It was a pleasure bringing this game to you. We're never tired of rooting for the underdog, are we? They hack our minds, hyptonizing us into hopeless cheerleaders. Set up for a thrilling Ranji Trophy finale then: Delhi playing Vidarbha at the Holkar Stadium, Indore. Join us for that too, promises to be as good. This is PratyushSinha bidding goodbye on behalf of Nikhil Jadhav and Siva. Be good, take care, ta-ta!

Rajneesh Gurbani - 5/94 and 7/68 - is the Player of the Match

It was indeed set up for a sensational morning session. Vidarbha were favourites on paper, needing just the three wickets, but ask anyone who's seen Vinay Kumar operate in the domestic circles. He's a champion. Scored freely in the morning session and except for that greedy cut shot, which would have been the third boundary off the bat in that over, he could have well taken his side home. In a way, it almost played out to Karnataka's plan, with Shreyas Gopal holding one end up and the lower-order playing shots from the other. Vinay did, so did Mithun, but they couldn't get past Rajneesh Gurbani, who's finished with 12 wickets in the match, picking all the three wickets to fall today. That dropped catch by Jaffer threatened to hurt but doesn't in the end, much to Vidarbha's relief.

10:38am local: Look at them celebrate. What a session this has been. If you aren't out of breaths already, prep for it now. Vidarbha's players are in tears, jumping for joy, screaming through Calcutta's morning fog. Quite a sight. You stay a cricket fan for moments like these.

59.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Aravind, out Caught by Wankhade!! Vidarbha, you thing of beauty. They win by 5 runs to storm into their maiden Ranji Trophy final! Aravind edges to gully here, playing away from the body for perhaps a single down to third man. Not to be. Aravind c Wankhade b Rajneesh Gurbani 2(6)

Rajneesh Gurbani to Aravind, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

6 runs. 1 wicket. We'll see what happens. Something's gotta give. We have two slips and a gully here. Could just be the last over of the match *wink*

58.6

U Yadav to Aravind, 1 run, leg-stump line again. And this has been glanced to fine leg. Thank god for the fielder there

58.5

U Yadav to Aravind, no run, cramped for room outside off, choked out with an open blade, flat-footed

58.4

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, 1 run, 7 runs to win now. Single steered to deep backward point now

58.3

U Yadav to Aravind, 1 run, nah, this one's too straight and is rightly flicked down to fine leg. Yadav here is trying to attack the pads, hoping to skid the ball on, but overdoes the plan on this occasion

Suddenly, 9 runs have assumed gargantuan proportions

58.2

U Yadav to Aravind, no run, beams the ball in from wide of the crease, Aravind keeps this out

58.1

U Yadav to Aravind, no run, Umesh nearly finishes things off. Drops this wide and on a back of a length, Aravind reaches out to play few foot away from his body. Beaten.

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, nice dive at second slip. A soft outside edge that could have run beyond the fielder but he did so well, diving to his left

I can't breathe.

Sreenath Aravind, left handed bat, comes to the crease

57.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, out Caught by Sarwate!! Here's the drama, told ya. Mithun gets greedy here. Looks to smoke that over mid-wicket, front-footed, but gets a thick outside edge that flies to deep point, who has to just track a few paces in. 9 runs to win for Karnataka, 1 wicket for Vidarbha.Mithun c Sarwate b Rajneesh Gurbani 33(26) [4s-5]

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, gets onto his front foot and shoulders arms. Ball thumping into keeper's gloves, and this is day five of a first-class match in India

57.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, FOUR, that's an ill-timed half-volley.. err.. by the bowler. Reaches out and drives that through cover. When you have room balls outside off, length generally takes a back seat

Okay, so Mithun is also getting tended to by the physio. He was hit on the midriff last delivery by Umesh, but tell you what, this might just be tactical too. Umesh bowled a good last over, laced with bouncers, so they might be calibrating their plan against that.

So you have to back Karnataka from here, right? Hold onto your horses, I tell you. Eden has this compulsive inclination for a bit of drama..

56.6

U Yadav to Mithun, no run, gets the ball jagging in from a back of a length, Mithun is cramped and takes a blow on the tummy

56.5

U Yadav to Mithun, FOUR, short balls fogging the foot work? This fullish delivery has been marmalized over Yadav's head. Presented the face of the bat, covered the length with a front foot stride, and laid into it. Wow. Just the 14 needed

This is a ploy from Karnataka, to bowl short balls and fog the foot work

56.4

U Yadav to Mithun, no run, angles this short ball from round the wicket, Mithun goes for the front-footed pull and misses

56.3

U Yadav to Mithun, no run, jabbed from the crease to mid-on

56.2

U Yadav to Mithun, no run, was looking to fetch the pull from outside off but Umesh had bent his back, getting the ball to lift sharply. Leaping take by the keeper there. Umpire signals one bouncer for the over

56.1

U Yadav to Mithun, no run, blocked into the leg-side

Umesh Yadav [18.0-3-58-1] is back into the attack

Right, this should be fun. Two yorkers should do it for Vidarbha but the momentum seems to be with Karnataka.

Drinks are on the field now! Karnataka need 18 more runs to win this, while Vidarbha require 2 wickets. Has been a great batting effort by the tail-enders especially Mithun. His aggressive batting has put Vidharbha right onto the back foot.

55.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, short of a length outside off, Gopal blocks this off his back foot

55.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, length delivery around off, Gopal blocks it down

55.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, 3 runs, good effort by Satish to stop the boundary. Full length delivery on middle and leg, Mithun flicks it through the gap at mid-wicket as Satish stops it with a sliding effort at the boundary ropes

55.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, 1 run, pitched up and outside off, Gopal plays it with soft hands and angles it towards backward point

55.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, fullish in length and well outside off, Gopal leaves it alone

55.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, on a length on middle and leg, played to the on side off his front foot

54.6

Sarwate to Shreyas Gopal, leg byes, 1 run, bowled on the pads, Gopal tries to tuck it the on side but the ball clips his pads and rolls to the left side of the pitch. The batsmen sense an opportunity and scamper across

54.5

Sarwate to Shreyas Gopal, no run, flatter on middle and leg, punched back to the bowler

54.4

Sarwate to Mithun, 1 run, short on middle and leg, punched down to long-on for a run

54.3

Sarwate to Mithun, FOUR, short and wide outside off, Mithun makes the most out of it and chops it through point. That's the second boundary of the over and Mithun means business. He's taking on the spinner nicely

54.2

Sarwate to Mithun, FOUR, straying on leg, Mithun glances it down to the fine leg fence to add four more to the tally. Karnataka need only 28 more...

54.1

Sarwate to Mithun, no run, that's a huge appeal! But, to no avail. It pitched on leg, perhaps outside leg and rapped Mithun on the pads. Fielding team went up in an appeal but umpire showed no interest

Aditya Sarwate [5.0-2-5-0] is back into the attack

53.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, 1 run, Mithun drives the full length delivery past the fielder at short cover. A fumble by the fielder at mid-off allows the batsmen to rotate strike. The bowler and keeper were annoyed with that effort by the fielder stationed there

53.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, no run, fullish outside off, driven to the man at mid-off

53.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, 2 runs, another brace for Karnataka. Back of a length outside off, Mithun punches it to sweeper for a couple of runs more

53.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, 2 runs, on the pads, Mithun flicks it towards deep mid-wicket for a brace

53.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, 1 run, back of a length outside off, chopped to backward point for a run

53.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, is that out? No it isn't. On a length around off, Gopal looks to tuck it away but gets beaten and rapped on the pads. Gurbani appeals for an lbw but that was clearly missing the leg stump. Very high and going down the leg side at the same time

52.6

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, 1 run, banged short outside off, Gopal dabs it to backward point for a run

52.5

U Yadav to Mithun, 1 run, the length delivery has been punched to mid-off for a run

52.4

U Yadav to Mithun, no run, back of a length around off, punched back to the bowler

52.3

U Yadav to Mithun, no run, good length delivery on middle and leg, mistimed towards mid-on

52.2

U Yadav to Mithun, FOUR, back-to-back boundaries for Mithun! Full in length and outside off, Mithun goes for it and smacks it over covers to get another boundary. Aggressive approach by Mithun

52.1

U Yadav to Mithun, FOUR, full length delivery on middle and leg, Mithun flicks it nonchalantly through mid-wicket. First boundary of the innings for Mithun. He's a pretty decent bat

51.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, good length delivery outside off, has been pushed to covers by Gopal

51.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, 1 run, pitched up and outside off, Mithun drives it uppishly towards the man at mid-off and takes a quick run

51.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, 1 run, pitched on middle and leg, flicked away to mid-wicket for a run

51.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, 1 run, fullish outside off, driven to sweeper for a single

51.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, no run, was there a chance? Mithun pushes it towards mid-off and sets for a run. However, Gopal isn't ready for it and sends him back. Fielder fires in a throw at the keeper who fails to gather the ball before taking down the bails. Lucky to be still out there, is Mithun!

51.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, no run, full length delivery outside off, Mithun plays away from his body and gets an outside edge. There's not much bounce in it, hence goes on a bounce to first slip

50.6

U Yadav to Mithun, 1 run, Mithun drives the length delivery to mid-on. A misfield by the fielder stationed there allows him to get off the mark

50.5

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, 1 run, short of a length outside off, punched to covers by Gopal for a run

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, bowled on middle and leg, turned away to the leg side

Abhimanyu Mithun, right handed bat, comes to the crease

49.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, out Caught by Akshay Wadkar!! 5-for for Gurbani! 10 wickets in the match for the youngster. It's short and wide outside off, Kumar throws his bat at it and ends up getting a thick outside edge. Keeper makes no mistake and the Karnataka skipper has to walk back after playing a handy knock. Karnataka need 57 runs but Vidarbha require only two more scalps. Vinay Kumar c Akshay Wadkar b Rajneesh Gurbani 36(48) [4s-5 6s-1]

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

49.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, byes, FOUR, sprayed down the leg side, Kumar fails to connect his glance. The keeper dives full length to his left to stop the ball but fails in his quest. Gets a glove to it but the ball rolls down to the fine leg fence

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, good length delivery outside off, pushes to the man at covers

49.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, FOUR, third consecutive boundary in as many deliveries. Gurbani bangs it short on off, Kumar rocks back and pummels it through the gap at mid-wicket. Positive approach by the skipper

49.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, FOUR, another boundary for Karnataka. Pitched full around off, Kumar goes for an uppish drive and beats the fielder at mid-off

48.6

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, FOUR, as straight as an arrow! Umesh offers a juicy half-volley and Gopal obliges. Drills it past the bowler as the cherry races away to the fence

48.5

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, lovely line. Pitched on off and takes off after hitting the deck. Gopal looks to defend but gets beaten all ends up

48.4

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, on the pads, Kumar gets to the other end with a gentle push to mid-on

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, short and around off, Kumar goes for a pull, ends up getting a leading edge that flies over covers. Couldn't position himself properly while playing that shot and that was the reason behind this leading edge

45.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, swinging away from the batsman. Kumar think of playing at it but decides to withdraw at the last moment. Perhaps, due to the away movement

45.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, in that corridor of uncertainty. Kumar plays inside the line and leaves it alone

44.6

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, this time around Gopal goes back and blocks the shortish delivery

44.5

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, on a length around off, played off the front foot and into the ground

44.4

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, FOUR, edged but safe! Not at all a bad delivery. Pitched on off and comes back sharply. Gopal goes for a drive but the ball catches his outside edge and flies through the gap between gully and third slip

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, howzzat? That was a good shout. Pitches on off and comes back sharply to beat Gopal's defence and rap him on the pads. Gurbani goes up in an appeal but the umpire thinks it's going down leg

43.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, starts off with a length delivery around off, Kumar angles it in front of point and scampers across for the first run of this morning

08:43 local: Bad light continues to plague Calcutta and the Eden Gardens (as if the outfield's animal magnetism for rain water wasn't enough). The start of Day 5 now stands delayed. The umpires will have a check at 09:00 local.

08:35 local: Hello everyone! A warm welcome to our coverage of the fifth and final day of this exciting semi-final clash between Karnataka and Vidarbha. We saw a flurry of wickets in the final session of play yesterday. Karnataka, who were in a strong position after the initial three days of this game, lost control as Vidarbha pacers ran through their batting line-up. It was that man Rajneesh Gurbani who bowled a magnificent spell and put Karnataka right onto the back foot. They need only three more wickets to make it to the next stage. Can Gurbani complete his 5-wicket haul and take his team to the next stage? Or will Vinay Kumar and Shreyas Gopal help Karnataka to bounce back in this match? We shall find that out soon. Play on day 5 to start in a bit. Stay tuned in for all the action folks.

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16:19 Local Time, 10:49 GMT, 16:19 IST: Yes, it is. It's stumps on day 4. With a day left in this match, this is still anyone's game. Yes, Vidarbha have a better chance to make it to the grand-finale but cricket is game of uncertainties. Anything can happen. Anything is possible. Just like Vidarbha's tail, even Karnataka's tail can add some handy runs towards the end and take this match deep. Vinay Kumar and Shreyas Gopal are quite capable of doing what Vidarbha's tail did. Just that they need to beware of that man - Rajneesh Gurbani. He looks lethal. He looks good. Also, with Umesh Yadav in the team, Vidarbha will fancy their chances. The match will start 15 minutes earlier tomorrow - at 08:45 local. Folks, we've got an exciting day 5 on the cards. So, make sure to join us for all the action. Cheers!!

16:11 Local Time, 10:41 GMT, 16:11 IST: Bad light stops play! Lightmeters are out and the umpires think it's not good enough to carry on. The fielders are trudging off the field and so are the umpires. The light is not going to improve from hereon. It hasn't during the last four days. So this might be the end of today's play. Might be.

42.6

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, full in length and outside off, Gopal shoulders arms

42.5

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, fuller on middle and leg, defended by Gopal

42.4

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, Kumar is taking his chances as he pulls the short one towards deep square leg. On a couple of bounces to the fielder. Had he timed it well, it could have been an easy catch in the deep

42.3

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, 1 run, on the pads, turned away to fine leg for a run. That was in the air for a while but no harm done as the fielder was way deep

42.2

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, it's a length delivery on off, Gopal tries to block but gets an outside edge that falls just short of the fielder at gully

42.1

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, bowled down the leg side, Gopal goes for a glance but to no avail. Easy take for the keeper

Drinks are on the field now! 89 runs for the batting team. 3 wickets for the bowling team. Vidarbha's last wicket partnership frustrated Karnataka. Time for their tail-enders to return favour. They can. But will they?

41.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, fullish in length and swinging away. Kumar leaves it for the keeper

41.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, good length delivery on off, punched back to the bowler

41.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, good line and length by Gurbani. Extracts a lot of movement with this full length delivery. Kumar is drawn into the shot as the ball beats his outside edge

41.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, FOUR, this short delivery gets the treatment as Kumar pulls it over mid-wicket. No fielder in that region and four runs for the skipper

41.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, full in length outside off, driven to covers by Kumar

41.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, full and way outside off, Kumar leaves it alone. He was throwing his bat at everything a while back. This is what the pressure of wickets does.

40.6

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, back of a length on off, Gopal blocks

40.5

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, Jaffer puts down a sitter! How costly will that be? The outside edge flies at him at wide slip and he puts it down. In and out. Umesh Yadav ain't pleased with that effort by the veteran in the slip. One bit. Full marks for Umesh for bowling the perfect line and length and inducing an edge though

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, length delivery outside off, Gopal has played it off and angled bat towards point. Good stop by the fielder on that occasion

40.2

U Yadav to Shreyas Gopal, no run, keeps low and strikes Gopal on his pads. That was going down the leg side clearly

40.1

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, length delivery on off, Kumar pushes it to mid-off and takes a run

Shreyas Gopal, right handed bat, comes to the crease

39.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gowtham, out Lbw!! That looked plumb. Dead plumb. It pitched outside off and came in sharply to beat Gowtham's defence. Strikes him right in front of the wickets and the umpire has no problem with that. His finger goes up and the batsman goes back to the pavilion. Karnataka in desperate need of a partnership at the moment. Need someone to take this innings deep. Gowtham lbw b Rajneesh Gurbani 1(7)

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gowtham, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

39.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, full length delivery on off, Kumar gets his bat down late and gets it off an inside edge towards mid-on

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gowtham, 1 run, bouncer, climbs into the batsman and smacks him on the glove as Gowtham tried to sway away. They sneak a quick single as the ball dribbles into the leg-side

39.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, length ball outside off, Vinay Kumar goes for a hoick and gets a thick top-edge which drops well short of a incoming deep mid-on

38.6

U Yadav to Gowtham, no run, Gowtham has played this one off his front foot and towards the same man stationed at mid-on

38.5

U Yadav to Gowtham, no run, bowled on middle and leg, pushed to mid-on this time around

38.4

U Yadav to Gowtham, no run, full in length outside off, Gowtham dabs it to covers

38.3

U Yadav to Gowtham, no run, good length delivery outside off, angled to the fielder at gully

38.2

U Yadav to Gowtham, no run, full and outside off, Gowtham goes for it but cannot connect. It goes past the edge

38.1

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, leg byes, 1 run, short one on the pads, Kumar goes for a heave but the ball hits him on the pads and falls to the left side of the pitch

Krishnappa Gowtham, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Umesh Yadav [10.0-2-29-1] is back into the attack

37.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, out Caught by Akshay Wadkar!! Gautam cannot believe it. There was no bat involved, perhaps. Has a word with the umpire before he decides to walk back. It was down the leg, Gautam tried flicking it away but couldn't. The ball went past him, there was a slight deflection and the fielding team thought it was an edge. Umpire thought the same and raised his finger. The sound, in fact, was off the pad. Gautam c Akshay Wadkar b Rajneesh Gurbani 24(53) [4s-3 6s-1]

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

37.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, 100 comes up for Karnataka with that single. Full in length on middle, Kumar eases it down to long-on

37.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, that kept low and was bowled on leg, Gautam nudges it towards short mid-wicket to get off the strike

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, SIX, here's a maximum from the skipper! It's a length delivery on off, Vinay picks up the length early and swings hard. Connects it to perfection and deposits it into the stands over long-on. Can the skipper play a game-changing knock here?

33.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, banged short and down the leg side, Vinay lets it through to the keeper

33.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, full in length and outside off, Vinay leaves it alone

Vinay Kumar, right handed bat, comes to the crease

33.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Binny, out Lbw!! Half of Karnataka is back in the hut. This match is heading towards a nail-biting finish. That kept low after hitting the deck. Binny was caught in the crease and was late in getting his bat down at the same time. Beats him convincingly and raps him on the pads. Gurbani goes up in an appeal and the umpire raises that dreaded finger. Two wickets in tandem for Vidarbha and it's game on. Binny lbw b Rajneesh Gurbani 0(2)

Rajneesh Gurbani to Binny, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

33.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Binny, no run, pitched outside off, coming in sharply, Binny is cramped for room as this goes past his inside edge

32.6

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, SIX, Banged short on off, Gautam frees his arms and pulls it hard over deep square leg for half a dozen

32.5

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, bowled on a length around off, Gautam gets forward with a gentle push to covers

32.4

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, straying on leg, Gautam moves across and works it towards the man at square leg

32.3

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, a length ball around off, played off the back foot to the off side

32.2

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, this pitches on off, back of a length and is played back to the bowler

32.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, on a length around off, Gautam shoulders arms

Stuart Binny, right handed bat, comes to the crease

31.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, out Caught by Akshay Wadkar!! This is a huge wicket! Nair plays away from his body and pays the price for it. The ball jags away after hitting the seam, catches Nair's outside edge and flies to the right of the keeper who makes no mistake. It's a huge deflection of the blade and the centurion of the first innings has to walk back with Karnataka in trouble. Pressure of chasing in a knock-out game is enormous. Still anyone's game! Nair c Akshay Wadkar b Rajneesh Gurbani 30(41) [4s-4]

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

31.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, pitched on off and seams into the batsman, Gautam goes for a drive but gets an inside edge that rolls down to deep fine leg

31.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, on a length around middle and leg, shuffles across and nurdles it to the on side

31.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, in that corridor of uncertainty, Gautam plays inside the line as the ball whizzes past the outside edge of his bat

31.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, that swung away sharply after pitching. Landed on the seam and left the batsman clueless having beaten his outside edge

31.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, quite full and well outside off, movement in the air and Gautam means no business

30.6

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, banged on off, hits the deck hard but Nair is equally good in playing it down with a straight face of his bat

30.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, good length delivery that has been defended solidly by Nair

30.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, FOUR, good transfer of weight on that shot. It was full and outside off, Nair leans into the drivem tranfers his weight onto the front foot and times his cover drive right into the gap. 11 runs have come off this over already. Ideal start for the batting team

30.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 2 runs, nipping into the batsman, Nair goes for a drive, ends up getting an inside edge as the ball rolls down to deep square leg. A couple of runs added to the account

30.2

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, 1 run, good length delivery outside off, pushed to covers by Gautam to get off the strike

30.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, FOUR, Gautam starts off with a boundary. It's a full length delivery outside off, Gautam angles it towards the third man fence with soft bottom hands. Pierced the gap between gully and third slip

Welcome back for the final session of the day. Two pillars of Karnataka's batting line-up, Nair and Gautam are looking well set and this partnership will prove to be pivotal in this chase. Neral will bowl the first over for Vidarbha post-tea. Here we go!

14:44 local: A gripping session in the context of the game. Karnataka's intentions, as of now, look pretty crystal-clear: 'Take your time out in the middle, wear the bowlers down and punish the bad balls.' After nipping out Mayank Agarwal early, Vidarbha's pacers bowled some absolute jaffas and in the process they claimed two more. Since the arrival of Nair, however, things calmed down and the target doesn't look too far to fetch from hereon. Unless there is a collapse, Karnataka should be through. Whether it's today or tomorrow depends on the weather which hasn't been kind in the past three days. Can they clean up the target before bad light comes into play? I fear not. Back in a bit...

29.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, very full and curving back in outside off, Nair lets it go and that's tea on day 4

29.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, a late dab to the left of gully who dives to save a certain boundary

29.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, so near, yet so far. The edge! Squares Nair up completely with a peach of a delivery to flirt past the outside edge

29.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, short of length outside off, Nair uses the depth of the crease to play it late towards backward point

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, FOUR, down the leg-side, all Nair needed to do was get bat on ball. He does so with ease and glances a boundary down to fine leg

28.6

U Yadav to Nair, 5 runs, drops the ball in front of point and rushes for a quick single. The fielder from cover got there quickly and rifled a wayward throw at the striker's end. To make matters worse, there's no back-up at square leg. Four bonus runs for Karnataka

28.5

U Yadav to Nair, no run, pushed firmly to cover

28.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, cuts late and finds backward point

28.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, rises tall and steers a back of a length delivery towards point

28.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, opens the bat face and defends a length ball into the off-side

28.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, throws his bat on the cut and ends up chopping it to cover

27.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, short and sprayed down leg, Gautam misses the flick. A diving take from the keeper, must say that was a commendable effort

27.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, forward and driven into the off-side

27.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, pretty vocal this time, the appeal. Nothing doing from the umpire and rightly so. Angles it in, wobbles it away off the seam, beating Gautam on the forward press. That moved a long way which led to a strong appeal from Vidarbha

27.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, blocked from the crease

27.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, a swish outside off, misses by miles

27.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, edged and through to third man. Looks to turn a length ball into the leg-side, was a fraction early in doing so, the leading edge pops out and flies in the gap between gully and the cordon

Rajneesh Gurbani [7.0-2-14-0] is back into the attack

26.6

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, slices the drive to backward point

26.5

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, drives to short mid-wicket and thinks, momentarily, off a quick single. Sent back

26.4

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, further wide of off-stump, Gautam content to leave those

26.3

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, walks towards the delivery and lifts his arms aloft to let it go

26.2

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, nowhere close to off, Gautam shoulders arms

26.1

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, lovely drive from Nair. Laces it off the front foot, but fails to pierce the gap on the off-side. Manages a single wide of mid-off

25.6

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, outside off channels, through to the keeper

25.5

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, into the leg-side this time, straight to mid-on

25.4

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, a firm drive to mid-off

25.3

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, blocked with bat-pad tucked together

25.2

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, gets across and plonks his bat in defence

25.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, leans across and pushes the defence into the off-side

24.6

U Yadav to Gautam, 1 run, short ball, hurries onto the batsman, Gautam top-edges the pull and it drops well short of the man at fine leg

24.5

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, sees the ball all along and withdraws his bat out of harm's way

24.4

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, walks across and checks his drive to mid-on

24.3

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, taps to mid-on and hustles for a quick single

24.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, another dart in the channel, Nair shoulders arms

24.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, good length outside off, left alone to the keeper

23.6

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, back of a length, straightens off seam in the corridor of uncertainty. Beats the edge for the umpteenth time

23.5

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, FOUR, full and arrowing in towards middle, late swing clicks the edge and races down to third man fence. Valuable runs for Karnataka, they won't mind how they come

23.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, manipulates the bat face smartly to pinch a single in front of backward point

23.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, takes his bottom hand off the blade as he defends with full face into the off-side

23.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, opens the bat face and taps a length ball to backward point

23.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, 1 run, moves across off, turns the ball to square leg to snatch a quick single

22.6

U Yadav to Nair, 2 runs, clipped off the pads behind square, they push for two and make it in time

22.5

U Yadav to Nair, FOUR, edged. Between gully and the slip cordon. Draws Nair forward with a pitch up and smacks the edge which unfortunately flies in the gap

22.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, shortish outside off, through to the keeper

22.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, plays for the original line and gets beaten on the inside edge this time around

22.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, blocked from the crease

22.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, beats the edge! Pitches in line with off and nips away sharply past the edge, Nair was standing back, trying to block, too good a delivery that

21.6

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, not threatening by any means. Way wide, left!

21.5

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, plants his front foot towards the line of the ball and drives gently towards mid-off

21.4

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, shuffles a tad and shoulders arms

21.3

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, FOUR, ambles across his stumps, gets inside the line of this length ball and tickles it fine. Off the mark with a boundary

21.2

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, pushed full outside off, driven off the front foot to cover

21.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, comes forward and across, drags his bat back to sway away from the moving ball. Lot of excitement behind the stumps, late reaction from the bowler. No edge. No dice

20.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, brings it closer to off, Nair leaves it on length

20.5

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back to outside off channels, Nair does the leaving dance

20.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, full on the stumps, driven with a half-stretch forward towards mid-on

20.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, keeps luring the batsman by bowling it wide of off, Nair keeps his cool and watches the ball sail through to the keeper

20.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, short and scissoring away outside off, Nair lets it go

20.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, short of length on middle, tucked round the corner

Umesh Yadav [5.0-1-15-1] is back into the attack

CM Gautam, right handed bat, comes to the crease

19.6

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, out Caught by Akshay Wadkar!! Two wickets in one over. Time for two new batsman out in the middle. Will this work in Vidarbha's favour? Only time will tell. Coming back to the dismissal: Nothing great about the delivery, just hint of away movement but Nischal could have easily left it on line or length. He pokes instead and sends a healthy edge to the keeper. Nischal c Akshay Wadkar b Siddesh Neral 7(44) [4s-1]

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

19.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, drifting down, glanced to fine leg

19.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, full on the pads, flicked to short mid-wicket

19.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, lands it way outside off, left alone

19.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, FOUR, played with soft hands and hence, the edge dies down and flies in the gap past the slip cordon. A bit of awkward bounce on this delivery as Nair came forward to defend, he managed to angle his bat slightly while doing so. Off the mark in a streaky fashion

Karun Nair, right handed bat, comes to the crease

19.1

Siddesh Neral to Samarth R, out Lbw!! The pressure applied in the last few overs has paid dividends now. Siddesh Neral bustles with pace and skids a nip-backer from wide of the crease; Samarth was caught inside the crease and played outside the line of the ball. Hit in front of off and middle. Easy decision for the umpire. Samarth R lbw b Siddesh Neral 24(65) [4s-2]

Siddesh Neral to Samarth R, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

18.6

Sarwate to Samarth R, 1 run, drives with full face of the bat towards deep mid-off. Finally..a run after 26 deliveries

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, presses forward and pats the ball in front of cover

17.5

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, jumps across off and drives with an open bat face to backward point

17.4

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, wide of off-stump, left alone to the keeper

17.3

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, confident appeal for caught behind, but the umpire stays unfazed. Wobbles back in off the seam, beats Nischal on the inside edge and thuds his back thigh en route to the keeper. No edge

17.2

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, full outside off, driven off the inside half back to the bowler

17.1

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, dabbed to covers

16.6

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, outside leg, Samarth pads it away

16.5

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, full on leg stump, turned away to short backward square

16.4

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, skips out of his crease, looks to drove inside out and mistimes it off the inside half towards mid-wicket

16.3

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, padded away into the leg-side

16.2

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, make that two in a row

16.1

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, pitches miles outside leg and slides past the batsman's pads

15.6

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, fiddles at a wide delivery and ends up blocking it off the inside half back towards the bowler

15.5

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, opens his bat face and dabs to backward point

15.4

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, yanks his length back and bowls it well outside off, not dealt with

15.3

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, full on the pads, Nischal drags the flick off the inside half towards short mid-wicket

15.2

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, bunts a fullish delivery back to the bowler

15.1

Siddesh Neral to Nischal, no run, full and homing in towards off, Nischal keeps it out

Siddesh Neral, right-arm medium, comes into the attack

14.6

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, well flighted on the stumps, driven back to the bowler who manages a half-stop on that

14.5

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, big lunge forward, solid defence

14.4

Sarwate to Samarth R, no run, jumps down the pitch and whips straight to mid-wicket

14.3

Sarwate to Nischal, 1 run, flicked away off the pads behind square on the leg-side

14.2

Sarwate to Nischal, no run, smothered down the pitch

14.1

Sarwate to Nischal, no run, blocked off the front foot

Time for drinks

13.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, driven square towards point

13.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, zooms the ball into the batsman from a length and decks it away off the seam. Nischal was looking to blcok away from his body, beaten neck and crop

13.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, 1 run, inside-edges the defence into the leg-side and a misfield from the fielder at short mid-wicket enables the single

13.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, scathing cry for lbw, and let me tell you that wasn't really a bad shout. Looked pretty closed to the naked eye. Seamed back in from a length, hit Nischal on the back leg. Was in front of middle, but the only factor that might have saved Nischal could be the impact which's slightly outside off

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, 1 run, low full toss on the stumps, might have slipped out of the hand, Nischal forces the drive to extra cover and takes off for a quick single

9.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, outside off, no shot offered

9.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, keeps his eyes on the ball and exhibits a compact defence

9.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, 1 run, pushes the ball in front of cover and nabs a quick single

9.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, blocked from the crease

8.6

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, drifting down leg, wasted delivery

8.5

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, bouncer on the stumps, Nischal ducks underneath

8.4

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, pushed back to the bowler, excellent effort from Umesh Yadav, stretches his right leg to kill the pace on the ball

8.3

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, another open bat face dab, gully dives to keep the batsmen at their respective ends

8.2

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, jumps up on his toes and taps the ball with an open bat face towards point

8.1

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, fuller around middle, clipped to short mid-wicket

7.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, outside off, left alone to the keeper

7.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, defended

7.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, FOUR, driven and driven for a boundary. Gets his front foot across and times the stroke to absolute perfection, through covers

7.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, corker! Hits the good length and gets the ball to straighten in the corridor of uncertainty leaving Samarth defeated on the outside ege

7.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, 2 runs, overthrows, no back up and they sneak an extra run. Tapped towards cover-point, a risky single, but all ends well

7.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, driven on the up towards short extra cover

6.6

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, pushed into the off-side

6.5

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, was there some gloved involved on that one? Short of a length, leaps off the pitch and snicks the glove as Nischal tried to flick. Yes, there was a glove. Replays confirm. The keeper dived full length to his left, but couldn't cling on

6.4

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, another open-the-bat-face-dab, gully dives to his right to deny runs

6.3

U Yadav to Nischal, FOUR, opens the bat face at the right moment and opens his account with a boundary. Nicely using Umesh Yadav's pace to great effect to steer it past backward point

6.2

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, comes forward slightly and fends it down off the splie of the bat

6.1

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, cracker! Absolute top nut that. Zips off from back of a length, angles in to shanghai Nischal into a poke and then rips past the outside edge. No clue

5.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, bowls in that in-between channel and gets some inward movement, Samarth's happy to let that go

5.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, on the stumps, Samarth turns it to short mid-wicket with soft hands

5.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, similar channels, nothing doing from Samarth

5.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, the other variation this time around. Hoops back in off the seam, still not close enough to make the batsman play

5.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, swung away from a fuller length, but the line's too far from off. Samarth won't play at those

5.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, keeps it tight on off-stump, Samarth presents full face of the bat to negate that

4.6

U Yadav to Samarth R, 1 run, rolls his wrists on the flick and sends it to fine leg for a strike-retaining single

4.5

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, harmless delivery outside off, left alone to the keeper

4.4

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, around middle and leg, driven with a closed bat face towards mid-on

4.3

U Yadav to Samarth R, FOUR, that has been nailed. Excellent shot from Samarth. Takes on the short ball, gets into good position to belt the pull through square leg

4.2

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, hurries Samarth with raw pace and smacks him just beside the box. A lunge too far across and wasn't covering for the movement

4.1

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, short and slips down leg, past Samarth's attempted glance

3.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, intense lbw appeal from the bowler, but nothing from the slip cordon. Height may have been the issue. Nip-backer, lands on a good length and clips Nischal high on the pad after beating the inside edge

3.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, 1 run, short ball outside off, Samarth fetches the pull from there and keeps it down to long leg

3.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, back and across, blocked with full face of the bat

3.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, touch fuller outside off, driven back to the bowler

3.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, shortens his length and keeps it outside off, Samarth rises tall and punches to cover

3.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, 2 runs, poor lines from Rajneesh Gurbani. A length ball on the pads has been picked away through square leg for a couple of runs

2.6

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, pushed into the covers

2.5

U Yadav to Nischal, no run, full outside off, defended

Dega Nischal, right handed bat, comes to the crease

2.4

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, out Caught&Bowled!! Mayank Agarwal takes a moment or two before inspecting the pitch and taking the long walk back to the pavilion. The ball tailed back in from a good length and may have stopped a bit, Mayank Agarwal was early into the flick and the leading edge flies to the right of Umesh Yadav who sticks his right hand out to grab an excellent reflex catch. Mayank Agarwal c and b U Yadav 3(7)

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, THAT'S OUT!! Caught&Bowled!!

2.3

U Yadav to Samarth R, 1 run, fuller outside off, push-driven to cover and they sneak a quick single

2.2

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, 1 run, back of a length outside off, dabbed late behind point

2.1

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, no run, strays one on the pads, just a gentle tap from Mayank Agarwal

1.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, full on middle, pushed back down the pitch

1.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, seamed back in from outside off, Samarth shoulders arms

1.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, short of length outside off, Samarth plays with an angled bat as he steers to gully

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, no run, hops back in his crease and drops the ball with dead hands into the leg-side

1.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, no run, good length, straightens off the seam outside off, Mayank Agarwal lets it go

Rajneesh Gurbani, right-arm medium, comes into the attack

0.6

U Yadav to Samarth R, 2 runs, pulled to the left of long leg and they take off for a risky second. Sharp throw from the fielder there, the keeper was quick to whip the bails, but Samarth was home

0.5

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, negotiated into the off-side

0.4

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, curls back in from a length and clicks Samarth high on the pad. Half-hearted appeal, but Samarth got a thick inside edge there

0.3

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, 1 run, sits back inside the crease, plays the ball with soft hands as he opens the bat face to dab a single in front of point

0.2

U Yadav to Samarth R, 1 run, short at the body, Samarth swivels and pulls to long leg. Karnataka off the mark in their second innings

0.1

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, absolute cracker to start with. Bowls it at a good pace, pitches it on a good length and gets the ball to nibble away off the seam to beat Samarth all ends up

Samarth R and Mayank Agarwal are at the crease. Samarth R is on strike. U Yadav will open the attack

Welcome back! The Karnataka openers are out in the middle. Umesh Yadav will begin things for Vidarbha. Starting off with two slips and a gully. Off we go...

11:55 Local Time, 06:25 GMT, 11:55 IST: With that last wicket, lunch has been taken. With two more sessions remaining in the day, Karnataka will look to score them quickly and improve their chances of making it to the next stage. However, Vidarbha have the likes of Umesh Yadav in their ranks. We all know how lethal Umesh is if he gets going. Also, the fact that Karnataka have to bat last in this match makes this run chase an interesting one. We'll be back in a while with the run chase of this second semi-final. Do join us then!

Karnataka need 198 runs to win the second semi-final and meet Delhi in the grand-finale of Ranji Trophy 2017. It was a good effort by their bowlers, especially Stuart Binny who struck on his very first delivery of the morning. After that gritty partnership between Wadkar and Satish, Karnataka needed someone to get them a breakthrough. Binny exactly did that. However, Sarwate along with the tail enders added some useful runs and took Vidarbha's lead close to the 200-run mark. The 10th wicket stand really frustrated Karnataka and it was their skipper who got the final scalp.

84.1

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, out Lbw!! The new ball working in favour of Karnataka. Vidarba have been bowled out for 313 as Sarvate has been trapped in front of the wickets. It's a length delivery on off, beats Sarwate's defence and raps him on the pads. Easy decision for the umpire as this was crashing the off stump. Sarwate lbw b Vinay Kumar 55(92) [4s-5 6s-1]

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

Vinay Kumar [18.0-2-71-2] is back into the attack

83.6

Mithun to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, good length around off, played to point off the back foot

83.5

Mithun to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, fullish in length and outside off, Gurbani looks to squeeze it out but misses. Also, Mithun falls down in his followthrough

New ball has been taken... Finally. Wonder what Vinay Kumar was waiting for!

83.4

Mithun to Sarwate, 1 run, to long on, length delivery on middle and leg, punched down to long-on for a run

83.3

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, good length delivery on off, Sawate gets an outside edge that falls short off the fielder at second slip

83.2

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, pitched on off and takes off after hitting the deck. Sarwate pokes at it but fails to connect

83.1

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, banged short on leg, Sarwate ducks under it. Easy take for the keeper

82.6

Gowtham to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, flatter through the air outside off, Gurbani leaves it alone

82.5

Gowtham to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, flighted on middle and leg, driven down to mid-on

82.4

Gowtham to Sarwate, 1 run, quicker on the pads, nudged to mid-wicket for a run

82.3

Gowtham to Sarwate, no run, quicker one outside off, Sarwate tries to cut but the faster one beats his outside edge

82.2

Gowtham to Sarwate, no run, floated on off, Sarwate defends it down

82.1

Gowtham to Sarwate, FOUR, half-century for Sarwate! Plays it late and chops it down to third man. He was the top scorer for Vidarbha in the first innings as well

Krishnappa Gowtham [2.0-0-7-0] is back into the attack

81.6

Mithun to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, good length delivery on off, Gurbani blocks it off his front foot to the off side

81.5

Mithun to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, pitched outside off, Gurbani fiddles with only to get beaten

81.4

Mithun to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, full in length outside off, Gurbani looks to defend but the ball whizzes past his outside edge to the keeper

81.3

Mithun to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, short one outside off, Gurbani rides the bounce and plays it with soft hands to point. Sarvate is eager to get back on strike as he's only one away from his fifty

81.2

Mithun to Sarwate, 1 run, short pitch delivery on middle and leg, Sarwate pulls this over mid-wicket and finds the vacant region

81.1

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, back of a length outside off, punched off the back foot to point

Abhimanyu Mithun [16.0-3-45-1] is back into the attack

80.6

Aravind to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, bowled well outside off, Gurbani plays inside the line and lets it through to the keeper

80.5

Aravind to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, length delivery on off, Gurbani defends it to the man at point

80.4

Aravind to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, draws the batsman forward by pitching it full and shapes it past the outside edge. Beaten on the drive

80.3

Aravind to Sarwate, 1 run, full on the pads, clipped away to long leg

80.2

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, loopy full toss on middle, biffed to long-on

80.1

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, blazes the drive past cover, but he refuses to take the single

79.6

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, loopy delivery has been pushed to sweeper cover by Gurbani

79.5

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, shortish outside off, deflected to point by Gurbani

79.4

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, flatter on off, played off the front foot to the off side

79.3

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, 1 run, the loopy delivery has been pushed for a single

79.2

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, FOUR, short and wide outside off, Sarwate plays it late and gets it past the fielder at first slip

79.1

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, floated on off, Sarwate blocks it off his front foot to the off side

78.6

Aravind to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, full and outside off, played past the fielder at point but no run taken. Sarwate will play the next over against Gopal

78.5

Aravind to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, pitched on off, Gurbani pokes at it only to get beaten

78.4

Aravind to Sarwate, 1 run, 300 comes up for Vidarbha with that single! It's a length delivery outside off, Sarwate slashes it over point and get a run

78.3

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, good length delivery outside off, angled away to deep point

78.2

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, on a length around middle and leg, turned to the on side

78.1

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, a yorker on middle, Sarwate does well to get his bat in time and get an inside edge onto the pads. Appeal by Aravind for an lbw but umpire picked up that inside edge early. Replays confirm this was going down as well

77.6

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, flighted delivery on off, played to point by Gurbani

77.5

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, 2 runs, quicker on off, Gurbani plays it with soft hands as the ball rolls down to third man off his outside edge

77.4

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, short and flat on off, played off the back foot to the off side

77.3

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, FOUR, handy runs for Vidarbha. Floated outside off, Gurbani drives it through the gap at covers. Good shot for a number 11.

77.2

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, pushed through outside off, Gurbani brings his bat in defence as the ball sails past his outside edge

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, fullish length delivery outside off, Sarwate swings across the line. The ball beats him, misses the off-stick by a whisker and goes through to the keeper

76.5

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, short and outside off, Sarwate swings and misses

76.4

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, back of a length outside off, angled away to third man. No single taken yet again. He's farming the strike nicely

76.3

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, on the pads, turned away to fine leg by Sarwate

76.2

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, good length delivery outside off, Sarwate goes after it only to get beaten. Just another wild shot. Makes the batsman look mediocre

76.1

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, fuller in length on off, played to the man at Sarwate

75.6

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, another googly by Gopal that catches Gurbani's inside edge and lobs to the on-side

75.5

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, 1 run, flighted delivery on middle and leg, whipped to deep mid-wicket for a run

75.4

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, 1 run, bowls another googly around off, Gurbani gets an inside edge to this. The fielder at short leg was in play for a moment but the ball is well wide off him

75.3

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, leg byes, FOUR, a googly outside off, Gurbani goes for a drive but the ball clips his pads and beats the diving fielder at slip. Gopal goes up in an appeal for lbw but the impact was way outside off

75.2

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, short and quick outside off, left alone by Gurbani

75.1

Shreyas Gopal to Rajneesh Gurbani, no run, floated on off, Gurbani gets an inside edge as he looks to drive. The ball rolls over to square leg

74.6

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, pitched outside off, Sarwate goes for a wild swing at it but makes no contact. A number 11 would have been proud of that wild heave

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, fuller outside off, Sarwate is late in getting his bat down in time. The ball beats his inside edge and goes on the full to the keeper. Slight appeal for a caught behind but in vain

74.3

Aravind to Sarwate, FOUR, fullish in length and outside off, Sarwate takes the aerial route and clears the fielder at covers. Man from long-off charges towards thhe cherry but fails in his quest to stop the boundary

74.2

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, on a length outside off, defended off the front foot to the off side

74.1

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, full in length outside off, Sarwate plays across the line and gets rapped on the pads. Aravind goes up in a loud lbw shout but the umpire shows no interest

Sreenath Aravind [19.0-4-50-2] is back into the attack

Rajneesh Gurbani, right handed bat, comes to the crease

73.6

Shreyas Gopal to U Yadav, out Caught by Vinay Kumar!! First wicket of the innings for Shreyas Gopal. Googly, does the trick. Pitched outside off and comes in sharply. Umesh gets forward in defence but gets an inside edge. Later, the ball clips his pads and lobs towards first slip where Karnataka skipper takes the catch. An entertaining cameo by Umesh comes to an end. U Yadav c Vinay Kumar b Shreyas Gopal 13(14) [4s-1 6s-1]

Shreyas Gopal to U Yadav, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

73.5

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, 1 run, shortish on middle and leg, punched down to long on for a run by Sarwate

73.4

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, short and quick on middle, turned away to the fielder at mid-wicket

73.3

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, floated on off, pushed back to the bowler by Sarwate

73.2

Shreyas Gopal to U Yadav, 1 run, flighted delivery on off, Umesh smacks it down to long-off. Only a single as there's a fielder stationed out there

73.1

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, 1 run, floated on middle, Sarwate gets down on his knee and paddles it down to fine leg

72.6

Binny to Sarwate, 1 run, short ball on middle, Sarwate pulls it aerially to deep backward square leg for a run

72.5

Binny to Sarwate, no run, full length delivery tailing into the batsman. Sarwate goes for a drive but the late seam movement beats his inside edge. Missed the blade by a whisker

72.4

Binny to Sarwate, no run, good length around off-stump, Sarwate blocks it off his back foot

72.3

Binny to Sarwate, no run, Sarwate defends the length delivery to the off side

72.2

Binny to Sarwate, FOUR, on a length around off, Sarwate gets an outside edge that flies between slip and gully

72.1

Binny to U Yadav, 1 run, sloppy fielding by the man at mid-off allows the batsmen to take a run. Binny's not at all pleased with the fielder's effort

71.6

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, flat and short on middle, tucked to the on side

71.5

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, short one outside off, Sarwate angles it to the fielder at short third man. Wants a single but the fielder is quick to gather this

71.4

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, floated on off, played back to the bowler

71.3

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, how did that miss the off-stump? Pitches on middle and turns away sharply to beat Sarwate's defence. Misses the outside edge and also the off-stick. Lucky to be still out there, is Sarwate

Binny to U Yadav, no run, full in length outside off, Yadav tries to defend only to get beaten

70.5

Binny to U Yadav, SIX, that's a biggie! Right into the slot and Umesh Yadav sends it sailing into the stands. No real pace in that delivery by Binny. It's up and it's over the long-on fence. Half a dozen added to Vidarbha's tally

70.4

Binny to Sarwate, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Sarwate angles it down to third man for a run

70.3

Binny to Sarwate, no run, back of a length around off, Sarwate defends it off the back foot

70.2

Binny to Sarwate, no run, on a lenth outside off, defended to the fielder at point

70.1

Binny to U Yadav, 1 run, full length delivery on middle and leg, driven down to long-on by Umesh

69.6

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, floated on off, Sarwate turns it to the on side with soft hands

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, no run, floated on off, Sarwate defends it off the front foot

69.1

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, SIX, short and punished! Drags it short on middle, Sarwate has ample of time to rock back and deposit this pull over the mid-wicket fence. The first maximum of this innings. That was a slap on the bowler's face

Shreyas Gopal [2.0-0-11-0] is back into the attack

68.6

Binny to U Yadav, no run, back of a length outside off, Yadav offers a back foot punch to covers

68.5

Binny to Sarwate, 3 runs, over-pitched delivery outside off, Sarwate leans into it and the drive beats the fielder at covers. Three runs taken eventually

68.4

Binny to Sarwate, no run, beats his outside edge. Good line and length by Binny outside off, that beats Sarwate's defence

68.3

Binny to Sarwate, no run, fuller on off, Sarwate has pushed it to the fielder at covers

68.2

Binny to Sarwate, no run, on a length outside off, cut to deep point by Sarwate but no single taken

Vinay Kumar to U Yadav, FOUR, length ball and Umesh Yadav gives it a full monty. Swung across the line and swung hard. Smashed wide of long-on

67.3

Vinay Kumar to U Yadav, no run, pitched up and around off, Yadav deflects it to point

67.2

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, 1 run, short of a length on off, Sarwate plays an agricultural cut towards sweeper to rotate strike. A test for Umesh Yadav against Vinay. Can he survive the next four deliveries?

67.1

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, no run, back of a length on middle and leg, Sarwate blocks it off his back foot

66.6

Binny to U Yadav, no run, jagging away from the batsman, Yadav pokes at it only to get beaten

66.5

Binny to U Yadav, no run, full in length and outside off, left alone

66.4

Binny to Sarwate, 1 run, direct hit and Sarwate was a goner! He drops it in front of point, calls for a quick single and had to rush back on seeing his partner refuse. There's a shy at the striker's end but doesn't hit. The throw travels to deep backward square and in the meantime they sneak the single

66.3

Binny to Sarwate, no run, on a length around off, Sarwate blocks it down

66.2

Binny to Sarwate, no run, good length on middle and leg, nudged to short mid-wicket

66.1

Binny to Sarwate, 2 runs, pitched outside off, Sarwate plays it with soft hands towards third man for a brace

Stuart Binny [10.0-1-52-3] is back into the attack

65.6

Vinay Kumar to U Yadav, no run, that's a jaffa! Pitched on off, Yadav looks to defend but the ball moves away and beats his outside edge. The bowling team goes up in an appeal for a caught behind but umpire Kulkarni isn't interested. That was really close to the blade though

Umesh Yadav, right handed bat, comes to the crease

65.5

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, out Caught by Mayank Agarwal!! Vinay Kumar strikes! Siddesh Neral's joy doesn't last long. Gets carried away with the drives and looks to grope at one that's bowled well outside the channel, that hint of movement Vinay Kumar creates got him the wicket here. Jagged away a fraction, took the edge and Mayank Agarwal snaffles a low catch at third slip. Siddesh Neral c Mayank Agarwal b Vinay Kumar 12(20) [4s-3]

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

65.4

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, FOUR, handy runs these for Vidarbha. Makes use of the length and width on offer as he walks down to lift the drive over extra cover. Played it in the air and played it with complete control

65.3

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, no run, full and swung away late on middle, Neral stays on the back foot and pushes it back to the bowler

65.2

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, no run, good length, curving in towards off, tapped with soft hands into the off-side

65.1

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, 1 run, short and wide of off, Sarwate slashes the cut to deep backward point

64.6

Aravind to Siddesh Neral, no run, an inswinging delivery that has been played with soft hands to the left of the pitch

64.5

Aravind to Siddesh Neral, no run, another good delivery bowled outside off, another good leave by Neral

64.4

Aravind to Siddesh Neral, no run, over-pitched delivery on off, Neral drives it uppishly to the left of the bowler

64.3

Aravind to Sarwate, 1 run, straying on leg, Sarwate works it away to the on side for a run

64.2

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, pitched full on the corridor of uncertainty, Sarwate shoulders arms as his eyes move along with the line of the delivery

64.1

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, on a length outside off, defended to the off side

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, no run, good length ball on middle and leg, tucked to the on side by Neral. Takes off his bottom hand while nudging this length delivery away into the ground

63.4

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, FOUR, back of a length outside off, Neral plays it with soft hands and manages to get an outside edge that pierces the gap at slip and gully

63.3

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, no run, full and outside off, Neral prods and drives it to the man at covers

63.2

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, no run, lovely line and length! Keeps it close to the stumps, Neral brings his bat down in defence, but as the ball swirls away it beats his outside edge

63.1

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, no run, good length around off, Neral defends it off the back foot

Drinks are on the field now! Karnataka have done an extremely good job after the initial one hour. Credits to Stuart Binny for his superb effort. He'll look to clean up the tail in a jiffy now. Can he? Looking at the way he's bowling at the moment, he might.

62.6

Binny to Sarwate, no run, on a length outside off, that moves away after hitting the deck. Sarwate tries to fiddle with it only to get beaten

62.5

Binny to Sarwate, no run, full and outside off, Sarwate leans into the drive but finds the fielder at covers

62.4

Binny to Sarwate, no run, back of a length delivery around middle and leg, punched back to the bowler

62.3

Binny to Sarwate, no run, that came in sharply but kept a tad low, Sarwate showed no interest in offering a stroke

62.2

Binny to Sarwate, no run, this is a length delivery around off, Sarwate blocks it out to the off side

62.1

Binny to Sarwate, no run, Binny tempts the batsman with a fullish delivery outside off and beats him all ends up

61.6

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, no run, good length delivery on off, Neral plays it off the back foot towards the right of the pitch

61.5

Vinay Kumar to Siddesh Neral, no run

61.4

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, 1 run, fullish outside off, played off the front foot towards point

61.3

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, no run, fuller on off, Sarwate defends it off the front foot

61.2

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, 2 runs, short and wide outside off, Sarwate chops it down to third man for a brace

Binny to Siddesh Neral, FOUR, the batsman picks up the length of the delivery early and flicks it nonchalantly through mid-wicket to get off the mark

60.5

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, the ball holds it line and beats Neral's outside edge yet again. Somewhat similar to the previous delivery

60.4

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, on a length outside off, Neral looks to defend but gets beaten all ends up

60.3

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, fuller on middle and leg, flicked off the inside half of the bat by Neral

60.2

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, on a length outside off, Neral blocks

Siddesh Neral, right handed bat, comes to the crease

60.1

Binny to Wakhare, out Caught by Samarth R!! Stuart Binny's on a roll here! Gets his second wicket of the morning. You beauty. Pitched outside off, the ball moves away a tad, and catches Wakhare's outside edge. The ball flies to the left of second slip who takes a good low catch. Three wickets in a jiffy for the bowling team after the initial one hour. Karnataka right on top Wakhare c Samarth R b Binny 0(1)

Binny to Wakhare, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

59.6

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, on a length outside off, Sarwate shoulders arms

59.5

Mithun to Sarwate, FOUR, first boundary of the innings for Sarwate. Full in length outside off, Sarwate leans into the drive and creams it through the gap at covers. Everything perfect about that shot. Head still, eyes on the ball and an elegant drive

59.4

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, this one is a wayward delivery that's banged short and down the leg side. Sarwate ducks

59.3

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, banged short but outside off, Sarwate leaves it for the keeper

Akshay Wakhare, right handed bat, comes to the crease

59.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, out!Another one bites the dust! Big wicket. Infact a huge one as Karnataka get the set batsman. Twin strikes! Wadkar earlier and now Satish. Mithun bangs it short around off, Satish goes for a pull but all he can manage is to get a top edge. The ball goes high up in the air, Aravind the man stationed at fine leg keeps his eyes on this skier, settles underneath and gulps it down. Ganesh Satish c Aravind b Mithun 81(168) [4s-10]

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

59.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, banged short on off, Satish ducks under it and lets it through

58.6

Binny to Sarwate, 2 runs, full in length and outside off, Sarwate gets down on his knee and square drives it through cover-point. Fielder from deep backward-point moves to his right and keeps them down to two with a sliding stop

58.5

Binny to Sarwate, no run, on a length around off, Sarwate blocks it out

58.4

Binny to Sarwate, no run, pitched outside off, Sarwate shoulders arms to let it through to the keeper

58.3

Binny to Sarwate, no run, full in length outside off, Sarwate pushes it to covers off his front foot

58.2

Binny to Sarwate, no run, on a length around off, Sarwate defends it off the front foot to the off side

Aditya Sarwate, right handed bat, comes to the crease

58.1

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, out Caught by Nair!! Stuart Binny strikes off his first delivery! Wish he was introduced earlier in the morning itself. Pitches it on a length outside off, the ball takes off, Wadkar pokes at it and gets a healthy outside edge that flies to Karun Nair at first slip. Nair didn't have to move an inch as this went right into his safe hands. Akshay Wadkar c Nair b Binny 28(59) [4s-3]

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

Stuart Binny [7.0-0-46-1] is back into the attack

57.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, pitched full and outside off, Satish keeps his eyes on it and lets it sail through to the keeper

57.5

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, bowled outside off, Satish has played it to the fielder at covers

57.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length outside off, played to point of the back foot

57.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, a length delivery outside off, Satish pokes at it but gets beaten by a whisker. Good line and length by Mithun in this over so far. Just that luck isn't favoring the bowling team in the morning session

57.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, pitched on leg and down the leg side, Satish fails to connect his glance to this. The keeper gathers the ball and appeals for a caught behind but in vain

57.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, banged short outside off, Satish goes for the upper cut but the extra bounce and pace is too good for any contact. Whizzes past his blade

56.6

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length delivery angled into the batsman, Wadkar has nudged it to short mid-wicket

56.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, pulls back the length but the line is still the same. Satish punches it to covers and takes a single

56.4

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, fuller around off, played back to the bowler by Satish

56.3

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, just beats the outside edge! Pitched outside that off-stump channel, in the corrdior of uncertainty, Satish pokes at it and gets beaten due to the away movement

56.2

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, full in length outside off, Satish square drives it but finds the fielder at point

56.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, full length delivery outside off, angled to Agarwal at gully

55.6

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, no run, this one is bowled well outside off, Wadkar shoulders arms to let it through

55.5

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, FOUR, punished! Short and wide outside off, Wadkar makes use of the provided width and absolutely slaps it past point. No chance of stopping that

55.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, shortish delivery on middle and leg, Satish plays it with soft hands and nudges it to short mid-wicket to scamper across for a run

55.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, banged short outside off, Satish rides the bounce and taps it to the fielder at point

55.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, short one around off, Satish backs away

55.1

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, the lead is now 100! Bunts the ball to mid-on and takes a quick single. Vidarbha are making a strong comeback in this match. The middle order batsmen are batting sensibly and piling up runs at the same time

54.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, good length and outside off, Satish punches it to the fielder at cover-point

54.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length outside off, Satish has punched it to the fielder at point

54.4

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, bowled outside off, Satish goes for a back foot punch but gets beaten all ends up. Good movement off the deck after hitting the seam

54.3

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, pitched up and outside off, Satish lets it through to the keeper

54.2

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, fullish in length around off, Satish defends it off the front foot to the off side

54.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 2 runs, full and on the pads, clipped to deep square leg for a single. Second bad ball of the morning by Aravind

53.6

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length just outside off, Akshay Wadkar gets on top of the bounce and punches off the back foot to the man at cover inside the circle

53.5

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length outside off, Akshay Wadkar has his feet rooted to the crease and middles a transfer-of-weight drive straight to the man at short cover

53.4

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length just outside off, Akshay Wadkar straightening again off the pitch... and what do you know? Beaten again on the back foot defence

53.3

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, no run, what - a - peach! Back of a length just outside off, Akshay Wadkar comes forward and prods, and beats the outside edge as it straightens a tad off the pitch

53.2

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length just outside off, straightening off the seam and staying low, beating the tentative prod by the batsman. Seemed to hurry the batsman, did that grubber

53.1

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length just outside off, coming in with the angle and Akshay Wadkar dead-bats it off the back foot

Abhimanyu Mithun [12.0-1-35-0] is back into the attack

Mithun, who got a five-wicket haul in the first innings, and has been in amazing form in this series, has been brought on as first-change this morning

52.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length just outside off, Ganesh Satish gets on the back foot and opens the fac eof the bat to guide it to the man at backward point

52.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length outside off, taking off from that length and bouncing steeply, seaming away and Ganesh Satish lets it go. Not beaten, but he was looking to play it. He adjusted hard and straight shot and played inside the line at the last moment

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, a little fuller than good length outside off, Akshay Wadkar comes forward and runs his hands through the ball and whips to extra cover. Not completely to the pitch and hence not great timing, but they manage a quick single

52.2

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, to mid on, back of a length just outside off, Ganesh Satish gets on the back foot, tucks it to mid-on and calls loudly to scamper across for the quick single. The batsmen have really put the pressure on the bowler by rotating the strike

52.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length outside off, Ganesh Satish stays in the crease, waits for it, and watchfully plays it right under hard and straight bat and it rolls away to gully. Very softly played. A late block - very important shot on such seaming tracks

51.6

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, on a back of a length just outside off, Akshay Wadkar crouches low and cuts it away towards point, but doesn't find the gap

51.5

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, full delivery on off, Akshay Wadkar comes forward and whips it back to the bowler

51.4

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length just outside off, Akshay Wadkar comes across to off and tries to glance across the line. Raps him on the pad and there is an appeal, but it was striking him above the kneeroll, so too high, and he has also comes across outside off, so the impact is outside the line of off. Given not out

51.3

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length outside off, deviating away from the batsman, but too wide to cause much trouble. Wadkar shoulders arms

51.2

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length just outside off, no deviation, Akshay Wadkar shuffles outside off and pushes it to short cover

51.1

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length delivery outside off, low-ish bounce. Akshay Wadkar comes down the track and leaves the ball. What an anticlimax

50.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length delivery just outside off, coming in with the angle with no deviation, Ganesh Satish hangs back in the crease and remains stoic in defence off the back foot

50.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, short-ish length just outside off, Ganesh Satish tries the steer behind point again but finds backward point

50.4

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, leg byes, FOUR, back of a length delivery but coming onto the pads with the angle. Ganesh Satish misses the tuck towards fine leg and it trundles away off the thigh guard for four leg-byes

50.3

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length delivery just outside off, coming in with the bowling angle and straightening off the seam. Left alone by Ganesh Satish

50.2

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, bowled from closer to the stumps on a back of a length and Ganesh Satish gets back in his crease and dabs it with a vertical bat towards point. They think about another quick single but decide against it in the end

50.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length wide outside off, and the seam movement away doesn't help. The batsman doesn't bother chasing after it and shoulders arms

49.6

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, back of a length delivery outside off again and once again he has steered it to deep backward point for a single, threading the gap between point and backward point

49.5

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length wide outside off, carrying to the keeper above chest-height who fumbles it, but manages to stop it. The batsman shoulders arms

49.4

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, back of a length outside off, and the routine dab to backward point for a single. They have done this a lot this morning - rotating the strike continuously and not letting the skilful bowlers attack one batsman

49.3

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, full delivery on middle and off, Akshay Wadkar comes across towards off stumpa nd clips it off the front foot towards mid-on. They haven't taken a run here, but they've been great with the quicks singles this morning

49.2

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, back of a length onto the hips on middle stump, tucked to mid-on off the back foot for a single

49.1

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, good length delivery just outside off, straightening a touch and a good leave by Ganesh Satish

48.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, back of a length outside off, coming in towards off with the angle, Ganesh Satish gets on his toes and steers it square of the wicket to the man at point for a quick single

48.5

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, good length delivery just outside off, Akshay Wadkar leans forward and pushes it to cover point as they scurry across for a swift single

48.4

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length outside off, Akshay Wadkar shuffles across to off and shoulders arms

48.3

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length outside off, seaming away, Akshay Wadkar tries to defend off the front foot and it beats the outside edge. Too good a delivery

48.2

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, byes, FOUR, oh my goodness! Aravind comes from round the wicket and wide of the stumps, and errs in line, drifting down leg, the swing into the right-hander doesn't help in this case and it swings past a wicketkeeper diving at full-stretch for four byes. What a shocker!... And that is also the 50-stand between these two

48.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, back of a length just outside off, Ganesh Satish hangs back and prods it to backward point for a quick single

Sreenath Aravind [13.0-3-41-2] is back into the attack

47.6

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length but drifting down leg. Akshay Wadkar misses the glance off the back foot and it goes through to the keeper

47.5

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, back of a length outside off, good bounce, Ganesh Satish hops and dabs it with soft hands to point and they scamper across for a single

47.4

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, good length delivery but on the pads, clipped away easily to backward square leg for an easy single

Nair in at slip, along with another player I can't quite spot

47.3

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, short and wide outside off, seaming away a touch from the right-hander, and left alone by Wadkar

47.2

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length just outside off, Akshay Wadkar lets it come on to the bat and late-blocks to the man at cover

47.1

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length delivery outside off, seaming away and Akshay Wadkar gets on the back foot and withdraws it from the line of the spitter

Vinay to start proceedings for Karnataka

8:50AM local time: Good morning and welcome to the Day 4 of this engrossing encounter between Karnataka and Vidarbha as the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. We have had a gripping game here until now. The Karnataka bowling line-up did extremely well to topple the VIdarbha line-up for 185, and then managed to take a 116-run lead. Karun Nair continued his penchant for performing in big matches and essayed an ingenious hundred, accounting for more than half of Karnataka's 1st innings score on a seaming surface. Vidarbha started off poorly and looked like they would buckle under pressure after losing their skipper for a duck off the second ball of the innings. However, a couple of rescue efforts from veteran Jaffer, Apoorv Wankhade and Akshay Wadkar have extended Vidarbha's lead to 79. We look forward to another exciting day's play. Do join us at 9:00AM local time for live action.

***********************

16:17 local: Just as we anticipated and to no-one's surprise, the light hasn't improved one bit causing the umpires to call it early stumps, yet again. Karnataka won't be pleased with the way things have gone in the second half of the day, especially after having gained a 116-run lead in the first innings. The partnership between Apoorv Wankhade and Ganesh Satish changed the course of momentum for Vidarbha. They will rely heavily on the latter to stretch the lead past 200, but for that he needs a bit of assurance from the lower-middle order. Karnataka's focal point though will be simple and straightforward. Wickets and wickets. Tomorrow proves to be paramount for both sides. Join us at 9:00 local for the usual fun. Cheers!!

15:35 local: The light has gone down considerably and thus, the umpires decided to take out their lightmeters; as expected, they aren't satisfied with the conditions and asked the players to traipse off the field. If the past couple of days are anything to go by, I'm afraid we might not see any further play today. We will be back as and when we have some news. Till then, swipe screens and follow Big Bash. Yes, it's on and simmering already...

46.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, curves back in off the seam, Satish plays for the original line and is beaten on the edge

46.5

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, another lifter, became predictable too. Satish ducks under it

46.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, goes wide of the crease and unveils a bumper on the stumps, Satish arches back and sways away from the line of fire

46.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, full and just outside off, Satish presses forward and presents the straightest of bats

46.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, gets across and blocks with soft hands

46.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, 2 runs, slightly fuller than the good length, slanting in, Satish forces it sqaure on the off-side with an open bat face

45.6

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, stretches across and looks to tuck himself in defence, the ball deviates off the seam and beats him on the outside edge

Shreyas Gopal to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, a real half-volley from Shreyas Gopal. Throws it wide and full and gets spanked through extra cover

42.6

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, 2 runs, too much width, Wadkar crunches the drive off the front foot and places it square of sweeper cover. Easy two. The lead's 66 now

42.5

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, gets inside the line of a length delivery and tickles it fine for a single

42.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, drags his length back and keeps it outside off, hop-and-block dance into the off-side

42.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, full and zooming in towards the base of middle, Satish takes his front leg out of the way and flicks to short mid-wicket

42.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, bowls it fuller and draws the batsman forward in defence

42.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, jags back in sharply from a length, Satish presents a compact defence in response

41.6

Shreyas Gopal to Akshay Wadkar, no run, flatter on off, pushed to cover-point by Wadkar

41.5

Shreyas Gopal to Akshay Wadkar, no run, floated on middle and leg, Wadkar gets a bat-pad to this as the ball lobs towards the left of short leg

41.4

Shreyas Gopal to Akshay Wadkar, 2 runs, pushed through on middle and leg, Wadkar goes back and turns it away to deep square leg for two

41.3

Shreyas Gopal to Akshay Wadkar, no run, short and straight on off, punched off the back foot to extra-cover

41.2

Shreyas Gopal to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, the loopy delivery has been driven to mid-off for a quick run

41.1

Shreyas Gopal to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, starts off with a tossed up delivery outside off, Wadkar drives it to sweeper cover

Shreyas Gopal, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack

40.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, good length delivery but way outside off for the batsman to make any contact

40.5

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, bangs is outside off, the ball skids on nicely after pitching and Satish leaves the rest for the keeper

40.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, fuller on off, Satish deflects this one towards square leg off an inside edge

40.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length around middle and leg, punched to mid-on by Satish

40.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, length ball on middle, Satish has played it off his front foot towards short mid-wicket

40.1

Mithun to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, to banged short on middle, Wadkar shuffles across and tucks it to square leg. Rotates the strike on the first delivery post-tea

14: 42 IST: So, Vidarbha have made a sort of comeback in this match, courtesy that partnership between Satish and Wankhade for the fourth wicket. The latter got carried away and threw his wicket away but the former is going along nicely and in most likely to score a century by the end of day's play. That is, if he's still playing. The lead has now moved onto 58 and if Vidarbha manage to add a few more quick runs to their tally in the final session, it might start to put Karnataka in a spot of bother. Remember, they have to bat last on this pitch. And that's never easy, isn't it? However, if they manage to get these remaining six wickets soon, they'll be in the driver's seat. Join us for the final session of the day at 15:00 IST.

39.6

Gowtham to Ganesh Satish, no run, short and flat outside off, punched off the back foot towards point. That shall be tea on day 3!

39.5

Gowtham to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, bowled outside off, Wadkar eases this one to covers to gather a run

39.4

Gowtham to Akshay Wadkar, no run, loopy delivery on off, Wadkar leans ahead and blocks it down

39.3

Gowtham to Akshay Wadkar, no run, floated on off, played off the front foot towards cover-point

39.2

Gowtham to Akshay Wadkar, FOUR, fine shot to the fine leg fence. Flighted delivery on middle and leg, Wadkar goes down and sweeps it nicely to the boundary. Adds four runs to his tally with that

39.1

Gowtham to Akshay Wadkar, no run, flatter on middle and leg, turned away to short leg

Krishnappa Gowtham [1.0-0-2-0] is back into the attack

38.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, another length delivery that has been pushed towards the fielder at cover

38.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, on a length outside off, punched to covers by Satish

38.4

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, over-pitched delivery around off, Wadkar drives it straigh down the ground and moves over to the other end. Mid-off does well to keep the batsmen down to a run with a sliding stop

38.3

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, FOUR, short in length outside off and meant to be punished. Wadkar doesn't miss out on the chance and puts it through point and way she goes. Stop that if you can!

38.2

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, fullish delivery angled away from the batsman who lets it through to the keeper

38.1

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, bowled outside off and pitched up, Wadkar leans foward to deflect it towards gully

37.6

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, good length delivery outside off, defended to point by Satish

37.5

Binny to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, that's flicked really hard. Drifting on leg and fullish in length. Satish stylishly flicks it past the fielder at deep mid-wicket. No chance to stop that! Was hit with brute force and timed to perfection at the same time

37.4

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, short of a length outside off, Satish offers a firm back foot punch towards the man at covers

37.3

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, fullish one around off, Satish drives it to Karnataka skipper who's stationed at short cover

37.2

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, good length and outside off, Satish plays it with soft hands and angles it to point

37.1

Binny to Ganesh Satish, 2 runs, pitched up by Binny, Satish goes for the drive and gets it past the fielder at mid-off for a brace

Stuart Binny [6.0-0-40-1] is back into the attack

36.6

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, another full length delivery outside off, another leave by the batsman

36.5

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length outside off, Wadkar angles it away to point

36.4

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, fullish and outside off, Wadkar has left that for the keeper

36.3

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, Wadkar has left this one bowled outside off for the keeper yet again

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length and outside off, Wadkar dabs it towards point

35.6

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, crunched away! Shortish outside off, Satish rides the bounce and punches it through the gap at point. Fielder from third man tries hard to reach and stop that but fails in his quest. With the boundary Satish also gets to a fifty. Has been a sensible knock by the middle-order batsman

35.5

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, another leave by Satish to a delivery bowled outside off

35.4

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, on a length outside off, Satish has left it alone

35.3

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, short of a length outside off, Satish looks to defend but gets beaten due to the away movement. That missed the outside edge by a really little margin. Keeper appealed for an edge that only he could hear

35.2

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, edged away through the cordon. Pitched up outside off, Satish plays it with soft hands, gets an outside edge that travels through the slip cordon and into the fence

35.1

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, on a length outside off, Satish defends it to the off side

Akshay Vinod Wadkar, right handed bat, comes to the crease

34.6

Aravind to Wankhade, out Caught by Vinay Kumar!! Wankhade gets carried away. Plays one shot too many. He was going along so well but it was unneccessary to play this shot. Fullish around off, Wankhade was tempted into the drive and he went for it. However, couldn't keep it on the ground and ended up fetching an easy catch to Vinay Kumar at covers. Misses out on his fifty by one run. So unfortunate. Wankhade c Vinay Kumar b Aravind 49(48) [4s-9]

Aravind to Wankhade, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

34.5

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, bowled outside off, left alone by Wankhade

34.4

Aravind to Wankhade, FOUR, a fine shot, that! Short around off, Wankhade pummels this one through mid-wicket. The fielder in the deep is very square to stop this one from reaching away to the fence

34.3

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, full and outside off, Satish plays it with soft hands and pierces the gap at gully and point

34.2

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, pulls back his length outside off, Satish with ease dabs it to point

34.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 2 runs, full and outside off, Satish drives it uppishly through the gap at covers for a brace

33.6

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, no run, fullish and outside off, Wankhade pokes at it only to get beaten

33.5

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, on a length around off, punched to mid-off by Satish to rotate strike

33.4

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, fullish in length and outside off, left alone by Satish

33.3

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, has been an expensive over by Kumar so far. Bowls another full length delivery on middle and leg, Satish makes the most out it by flicking it away through the gap at mid-wicket

33.2

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, 1 run, a length delivery on off, Wankhade plays it in front of the fielder at cover and scampers across for a run. Binny has an underarm throw at the bowler's end but that doesn't hit

33.1

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, FOUR, that's a cracking shot! Short and wide outside off, Wankhade reaches for it and slams it past the diving fielder at point. Races away to the fence at the speed of light

32.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, bowled on off, bounces a tad more than usual. Satish takes off his bottom hand and blocks it to the off side

32.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, fuller on off, Satish leans ahead and defends it to the right of the bowler

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, fullish on off, played to point by Satish off his front foot

32.2

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, fuller and outside off, angled away to point by Satish

32.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, fullish and outside off, played to point by Satish

31.6

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, no run, bowled outside off, Wankhade blocks it out

31.5

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, FOUR, to deep mid wicket, poor line by Vinay Kumar. Full in length on middle, Wankhede has no trouble to put it away to the mid-wicket fence with an easy flick

31.4

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, 2 runs, a bit of swing on that occasion but on leg, Wankhade tucks it down to fine leg for a brace. Good running between the wickets by both batsmen

31.3

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, no run, back of a length around off, Wankhade defends it off the back foot towards covers

31.2

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, no run, back of a length around off, punched towards mid off by Wankhade

31.1

Vinay Kumar to Wankhade, no run, fuller on off, driven back to the bowler by Wankhade

Vinay Kumar [7.0-1-23-1] is back into the attack

30.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, appeal for an lbw! That pitched outside leg, perhaps that was the reason for the decision given in the batsman's favour. It hit Satish on the pads as he missed his flick

30.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length around off, Satish defends it towards point

30.4

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, full and outside off, left alone by the Satish

30.3

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, fuller in length around off, driven back to the bowler. Aravind gathers it in his follow through and has a shy at the batsman's end

30.2

Aravind to Wankhade, 1 run, short of a length outside off, Wankhade opens the face of the bat and plays it towards deep point for a run

30.1

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, fullish in length around off, Wankhade reaches for it and gets a leading edge towards covers

29.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, a firm drive to short extra cover

29.5

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, gets across and shoulders arms to a length ball outside off

29.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, blocked with soft hands in front of cover

29.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, presses across and pushes the ball into the covers

29.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, make that two in a row

29.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, no hint of swing. Outside off, through to the keeper

Ring test being performed and guess, the umpires aren't satisfied with the current state of the ball. Calls for a change and out come the fourth umpire with his brief case. A lot of discussion and mandatory check-ups taking place as Karun Nair looks on intensely. And finally, we have a new-old ball. The ball has been tossed to Mithun who will resume things

28.6

Aravind to Wankhade, FOUR, this is fearless batting from Apoorv Wankhade! He has looked positive since his arrival and is brimming with confidence with shots like these. Jogs down the pitch, takes on the length ball and clubs it back over the bowler's head

28.5

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, dabbed into the off-side

28.4

Aravind to Wankhade, FOUR, blazing drive from Apoorv Wankhade! Leans into the ball and caresses a half-volley through extra cover

28.3

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, gets forward and plonks the ball to short cover

28.2

Aravind to Wankhade, 2 runs, Vidarbha in lead now. Sloppy work from short cover. Aims and misses at the batting end after Wankhade pushed it for a quick single, ended up conceding an extra run via an overthrow

28.1

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, shuffles forward and across and blunts the ball back to the bowler

Sreenath Aravind [7.0-1-18-1] is back into the attack

27.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, another rock solid defence to cap off the over

27.5

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, allows the ball to come to him and offers a straight bat in defence

27.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, zips back in off the pitch from a good length, can't tempt a stroke from the batsman

27.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, back of a length outside off, Satish lifts his bat and lets it go

27.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, 2 runs, pushes the drive past cover-point and with that, the deficit has been erased. Scores are level

27.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, lands it full and gets some shape into the batsman, Satish shoulders arms

Time for a drink.

26.6

Gowtham to Wankhade, no run, quicker outside off, defended

26.5

Gowtham to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, arches back and tucks the ball off his hip through square leg

26.4

Gowtham to Ganesh Satish, no run, presses forward and blocks into the off-side

26.3

Gowtham to Ganesh Satish, no run, floated full outside off, driven straight to short extra cover

26.2

Gowtham to Ganesh Satish, no run, spins in a touch outside off, Satish strides across and pads it away. Impact way, way outside off

26.1

Gowtham to Wankhade, 1 run, flat outside off, punched off the back foot to deep cover

Krishnappa Gowtham, right-arm off break, comes into the attack

25.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, fuller and wider, no intentions of playing at that

25.5

Mithun to Wankhade, 1 run, uses the pace of Mithun and angles his bat to steer a single behind point

25.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, shuffles to off, tucks the ball in front of short mid-wicket and nabs a quick single

25.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, solid block from the crease

25.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, decks back in sharply after drawing the batsman forward. A late, yet sensible leave from the batsman

25.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, wide of off, left alone to the keeper

24.6

Binny to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, punched to extra cover for a strike-retaining single

24.5

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, confident appeal for caught behind, but the umpire didn't seem too interested. Pitched on a length and may have clipped the thigh pad as Satish missed the flick. Replays prove that there's no bat involved

24.4

Binny to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, overpitches and sprays it around the pads, whipped away through mid-wicket. Easy pickings these for the batsman

24.3

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, swings away from a good length, left alone

24.2

Binny to Wankhade, 1 run, back of a length outside off, tapped square on the off-side

24.1

Binny to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, taps the ball with soft hands into the off-side and calls for a quick single. Binny got there quickly, had a shy and hit the stumps direct at the non-striker's end, but Satish was home

23.6

Mithun to Wankhade, no run, short and slipping down leg, Wankhade lets it go

23.5

Mithun to Wankhade, FOUR, forward and timed the pants of a drive, past cover with full flow and elegance

23.4

Mithun to Wankhade, no run, nips in and straightens past the outside edge as Wankhade looks to grope

23.3

Mithun to Wankhade, no run, still short, around off and middle, Wankhade rises on his tippy toes to fend it down

23.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, short of length wide of off stump, Satish stabs it wide of third slip and hustles for a quick single

23.1

Mithun to Wankhade, 1 run, goes wide of the crease, angles it full on the pads, glanced away to fine leg

22.6

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, pitches it full outside off, Ganesh Satish does the shuffle-and-leave dance

22.5

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, nips away from a good length outside off, not dealt with

22.4

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, hops back inside his crease and negates an inswinging short of length delivery into the on-side

22.3

Binny to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, edged and four! An uppish drive away from the body, takes the toe-edge and flies wide of gully

22.2

Binny to Wankhade, 1 run, plants the ball into the leg-side and sprints across for a quick single

22.1

Binny to Wankhade, no run, moves away late outside off, left alone to the keeper

21.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, full and wide outside off, Satish shoulders arms to let that one go

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, 5 runs, bonus runs for Vidarbha. Satish drops this length delivery towards the right off the pitch and sets off for a quick single. The fielder charges towards the ball, gathers it and has a shy at the bowler's end. The ball doesn't hit the sticks but instead races away to the boundary ropes

19.3

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, banged short on off, Satish ducks under that one

19.2

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, that was very close to the outside edge. Full and outside off, swinging away from the batsman, Satish pokes but gets beaten due to the swing. Could have easily kissed the edge

19.1

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, swinging delivery that's pitched up and outside off, Satish shoulders arms to let it through

18.6

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, this one is pitched outside off, Wankhade leaves it alone and the keeper does the rest

18.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, shortish outside off, run down to third man by Satish for a single

18.4

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, length delivery on middle and leg, dabbed to the on side by Satish

18.3

Aravind to Wankhade, 1 run, on a length outside off, pushed to point for a run

18.2

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, another full length delivery outside off, left alone by the batsman

18.1

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, fuller outside off, left alone by Wankhade

17.6

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, short of a length outside off, Satish plays this with soft hands and runs it past the slip cordon and down to the third man fence

17.5

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, fullish and outside off, Satish pokes at it only to get beaten

17.4

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, bowled outsie off, left alone

17.3

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, length delivery on middle and leg, tucked to the on side

17.2

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, good length on off, Pathak takes off his bottom hand and defends it towards the off side

17.1

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, length delivery around off, Pathak defends it towards the man at point

16.6

Aravind to Wankhade, byes, FOUR, bowled down the leg side, batsman fails to connect his flick and the keeper fails to gather the ball as well. The ball rolls down to the fine leg fence as umpire signals four byes

16.5

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, good length delivery around off, Wankhade defends it down

16.4

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, fullish outside off, driven off the front foot towards the man at covers

16.3

Aravind to Wankhade, FOUR, brings the bat down at an angle and does so with soft hands, the edge flies wide of the slip cordon and races away to the third man fence

16.2

Aravind to Wankhade, no run, outside off, Wankhade shoulders arms

Apoorv Wankhade, right handed bat, comes to the crease

16.1

Aravind to Jaffer, out Lbw!! Big wicket for Karnataka. Right after the lunch break. Aravind bowls full length delivery around off, Jaffer looks to work it to the on side but is beaten and rapped on the pads. The bowling team goes up in an appeal and the umpire obliges. Sreenath could have got him in an over before lunch. Couldn't do it then but gets him this time around. Jaffer lbw b Aravind 33(48) [4s-5]

Aravind to Jaffer, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

15.6

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, blocked from the crease

15.5

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, still not close enough to draw a stroke from the batsman. Left

Welcome back for post-lunch proceedings. A paramount session this for both sides. Vinay Kumar will resume. Still a little bleak out there. Three slips and a gully. Off we go...

12:05 IST: That's a pretty good morning session for Karnataka. They managed to take their team total past the 300-run mark, having achieved a lead of 116 at the end of their innings. Karun Nair was the top scorer for Karnataka. Vinay Kumar gave them an ideal start having taken a wicket in the very first over of the innings itself. The other wicket was taken by Stuart Binny but Jaffer is lucky to be still out there. Aravind almost got him in the over before lunch but umpire's decision saved him. Vidarbha trail by 58 runs but it's quite possible that Karnataka bowlers will make life difficult for them in the post-lunch session. There's a lot of swing on offer and overhead conditions are suitable for the bowlers too. We'll be back in a while for the second session of day 3. Join us at 12:40 IST for all the action.

14.6

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, fullish in length and outside off, Jaffer shoulders arms and that'll be lunch on day 3

14.5

Aravind to Jaffer, 2 runs, straying on the pads, Jaffer tickles it away to deep square leg to add two more runs to his tally

14.4

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, good length around off, Jaffer leaves it for the keeper

14.3

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, length delivery on off, Jaffer defends it down

14.2

Aravind to Jaffer, 2 runs, fullish on middle and leg, flicked away to deep square leg by Jaffer for a brace

14.1

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, that's a huge appeal by Aravind. For the naked eye it looked out. But, perhaps the umpire thought the impact was outside off. Pitched outside off, Jaffer tried to defend but the ball beat him and rapped him on the pads. Aravind was literally pleading as he though this was crashing onto the stumps. Jaffer survives. That was real close!

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, this one pitches on off and moves away sharply. Satish plays inside the line and watches the ball sail through to the keeper

13.4

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, another similar delivery to the previous one, left alone by Satish

13.3

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, fullish in length outside off, Satish means no business

13.2

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, Satish gets his first boundary in style. It's a short of a length delivery on off, Satish keeps his head still and cracks it through the gap at covers. Really good shot by the right-handed batsman as the fielders had no chance to move on that occasion

13.1

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, keeps it on a length around off, Satish defends it off the back foot and angles it towards point

Vinay Kumar [3.0-1-5-1] is back into the attack

Will skipper Vinay Kumar bowl the final over before lunch?

12.6

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, bowled on middle and leg from round the wicket, Jaffer has played it to the on side with utter ease

12.5

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, fullish again on middle and leg, Jaffer has flicked it away to square leg

12.4

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, fuller on off, driven to covers by Jaffer

12.3

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, leg byes, 1 run, back of a length on middle and leg, clips Sathish's pads and rolls over to the on side. That leg byes brings up the 50 for Vidarbha

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, full in length around middle, Satish tries to flick it away but gets a leading edge towards the man at cover-point

11.6

Binny to Jaffer, FOUR, to third man, back-to-back boundaries for Jaffer. This is short and wide outside off, Jaffer throws his bat it and gets an outside edge that beats the man at third man. He was pretty square on that occasion, hence there was no chance of stopping this

11.5

Binny to Jaffer, FOUR, short of a length around off, Jaffer keeps his eyes on the ball, positions himself well and times his pull over mid-wicket. The ball goes away into the fence on a few bounces

11.4

Binny to Jaffer, no run, fullish in length but well outside off, no trouble for the batsman at all

11.3

Binny to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, back of a length and outside off, Ganesh dabs it towards backward point for an easy run. Good effort by Shreyas Gopal who gathers the ball with a slide and keeps them down to a single

11.2

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, pitched up, Sathish does extremely well to get his bat down in time. Gets an inside edge towards the man at square leg

11.1

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, pitched full and outside off, Satish has left it alone

10.6

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, full and wide outside off, it's an easy leave for the batsman and an even easier take for the keeper

10.5

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, length delivery on middle and leg, Jaffer tries to flick it away but the ball clips his pads and rolls over to the keeper.

10.4

Aravind to Jaffer, 2 runs, full length delivery on middle and leg, Jaffer flicks it through square leg for a brace

10.3

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, on a length outside off, Jaffer has left it alone

10.2

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, that came in sharply. Bowled from round the wicket, Jaffer decides to leave it as the ball raps him on the pads. A mild appeal for an lbw but the struck him too high

10.1

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, full and outside off, Jaffer goes for the drive but gets beaten due to the away swing

9.6

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, full and wide outside off, left alone

9.5

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, bowled outside off, Sathish leaves it alone for the keeper

9.4

Binny to Jaffer, 1 run, to sweeper cover, length ball outside off, Jaffer opens the face of his bat and guides it to third man

9.3

Binny to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, to mid on, fuller on middle and leg, Satish pushes it to mid-on for a run to get off the mark

Ganesh Satish, right handed bat, comes to the crease

9.2

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, out Caught by Gautam!! This is a jaffa by Stuart Binny. Bowls the perfect line and length. Pitches on off, deviates a tad and kisses Sanjay Ramaswamy's outside edge. Keeper does the rest and the batsman has to walk back dejected to the pavilion. Binny will be pleased after getting his first wicket of this innings and that too of such a beautiful delivery. Sanjay Ramaswamy c Gautam b Binny 17(26) [4s-3]

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

9.1

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, FOUR, straying on the pads, Sanjay Ramaswamy times his flick through mid-wicket to add four runs to his tally. Easy pickings for the batsman on that occasion

8.6

Aravind to Jaffer, 2 runs, on a length outside off, Jaffer plays it late and finds the gap with a push through the off side for a brace

8.5

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, fullish and outside off, Jaffer pokes at it as the ball beats his outside edge

8.4

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, lucky on that occasion! This could have easily chopped onto the stumps. On a length around off, Sanjay Ramaswamy tries to defend as the ball clips his inside egde and goes past the stump towards the keeper. A single taken in the end

8.3

Aravind to Jaffer, 1 run, short again and outside off again, Jaffer cuts it to deep backward point to get a run

8.2

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, shortish and around off, Sanjay Ramaswamy taps it in front of point and scampers across to the other end

8.1

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, banged short around off, Sanjay Ramaswamy goes back and offers a defensive shot as the ball rolls back to the bowler

7.6

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, to third man, shortish and outside off, Ramaswamy glides it down to deep backward point for a run

7.5

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, full in length again but very wide for the batsman to make any contact. No need to fiddle with these deliveries

7.4

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, hits the seam and moves away as Sanjay Ramaswamy watches it go through to the keeper

7.3

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, FOUR, shortish outside off, Sanjay plays it late and guides it past the fielder at gully. Did well to ride the bounce and get that away to the fence

7.2

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, length delivery pitched outside off, Sanjay tries to defend as the ball catches his inside edge and thuds onto his pads. Cries of 'aaah' from the fielders in the cordon. They thought this was a really good delivery.

7.1

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, starts off with a gentle loosener. Full and outside off, not much pace on that and Sanjay shoulders arms

Stuart Binny, right-arm medium, comes into the attack

6.6

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, full and very wide outside off, Jaffer leaves it alone. That hit the seam and moved away miles

6.5

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, on a length just around off, Jaffer goes back and nudges it towards the on side

6.4

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, full length delivery on off, Sanjay Ramaswamy tries to drive but ends up getting an inside edge. The ball rolls towards mid-wicket as the batsmen sneak in with a single

6.3

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, further wide of off-stump, nothing doing from Sanjay Ramaswamy

6.2

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, full and swerving away with the angle, no shot offered

6.1

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, swings in from a length towards off and middle, nudged round the corner

Sreenath Aravind, left-arm fast medium, comes into the attack

5.6

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, back of a length around off, Jaffer gets behind the line of the delivery and punches it firmly to the man at mid-off

5.5

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, full and very wide outside off, left alone by Wasim Jaffer

5.4

Mithun to Jaffer, 2 runs, short and wide outside off, Jaffer waits for it and punches it through the gap at covers for a brace

5.3

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, on a length around middle, pushed towards mid-on this time around

5.2

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, banged short outside off, Jaffer punches it off his back foot with a still head but finds the fielder at mid-off

5.1

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, back of a length on leg, Sanjay Ramaswamy tucks it to square leg for a run

4.6

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run

4.5

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, punched off the back foot to mid-off

4.4

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, bowled on middle and leg, Jaffer flicks it to mid-wicket. Thinks of taking a run but decides against it on seeing the fielder charging towards the cherry

4.3

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, an easy leave for Jaffer as this full length delivery seams away

4.2

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, leg byes, 1 run, Sanjay Ramaswamy tries to flick this length delivery but the ball clips his pads and rolls down to the on-side

4.1

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, full length delivery aimed on the middle-stump, Sanjay Ramaswamy keeps his eyes on the ball and drives it to mid-on

3.6

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, edged but safe! On a length outside off, Jaffer pokes at it and gets an outside edge that falls just short of the fielder at third slip. Had there been a bit more bounce on it, could have easily carried to the man stationed in the cordon

3.5

Mithun to Jaffer, FOUR, full on middle and leg, Jaffer plays a controlled shot and flicks it away through square leg. An elegant and wristy flick by the veteran

3.4

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, comes in sharply after hitting the seam. Jaffer looks to defend but gets an inside edge onto the pads. Bowler was interested in an lbw appeal for a moment but later realised there was a clear inside edge

3.3

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, shortish on off, Jaffer punches it off the back foot towards the man at covers

Mithun to Jaffer, FOUR, a thick outside edge will take that away to the third man fence. It was a fullish delivery outside off, Jaffer went for the drive and ended up getting an outside edge. Through the gap at gully and into the fence

2.6

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, another leave to a delivery that's bowled well outside off. Kumar has kept his line and length tight like always

2.5

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, pitched up again and the line is similar to the previous one. Left alone again

2.4

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, full again and very wide outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy shows no interest in playing at it. Hit the seam and jagged away from the batsman

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, FOUR, full and just outside off, Ramaswamy square drives it through the gap at cover-point as the ball races away into the boundary

2.1

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, massive away swing on that delivery. Pitched outside away and the away movement takes it almost to the fielder at first slip

1.6

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, Jaffer defends the last delivery of the over to the leg side calmly

1.5

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, banged short and down the leg side, Jaffer thinks of flicking it away but decides to leave it eventually. Keeper dives full length to his left to gather this delivery that's sprayed down the leg side

1.4

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, back of a length around middle and leg, tucked towards the fielder at short mid-wicket

1.3

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, good length delivery around off, Jaffer defends it with a still head off his back foot. Got to love his technique

1.2

Mithun to Jaffer, FOUR, everything perfect in that shot. Jaffer keeps his head still and times this full length delivery past the fielder at cover

1.1

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, lovely delivery to start off. Pitched just outside off, in that corridor of uncertainty, holds the line and beats Jaffer's outside edge

Abhimanyu Mithun, right-arm medium, comes into the attack

0.6

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, bowled way outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy leaves it alone for the keeper

0.5

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, short of a length around off, Ramaswamy defends it down

0.4

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, 1 run, straying on the pads, Jaffer gets off the mark with a single towards square leg

0.3

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, another lbw appeal! But this time it's clearly going down the leg side. Umpire says this was going down leg and replays confirm the same

Wasim Jaffer, right handed bat, comes to the crease

0.2

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, out Lbw!! Here's the first wicket of the innings. Excellent delivery by Vinay Kumar. Pitched on middle and coming back sharply into the batsman. Fazal looks to tuck it to the on side but gets beaten due to the inward movement. The ball raps him on the pads and Vinay goes up in an appeal. Umpire thinks this was hitting the stumps, hence raises his finger as Karnataka get their first wicket. How often do we see this? Kumar striking early on with the new ball. An ideal start for Karnataka. Couldn't have asked for a better one. Faiz Fazal lbw b Vinay Kumar 0(2)

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

0.1

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, starts off with a length delivery on off, Fazal defends it off the back foot and back to the bowler

Faiz Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy are at the crease. Faiz Fazal is on strike. Vinay Kumar will open the attack

The Vidarbha batsmen are out at the center now, and Faiz Fazal will be taking strike with Ramaswamy at the other end. This promises to be another gripping session of play as Vinay Kumar starts proceedings. Here we go!

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Innings Break: So that's the end of Karnataka's innings. Karun Nair was the stand-out performer in this innings, scoring more than half of the runs for Karnataka. Vinay Kumar played a good knock supporting Nair with a 71-run partnership, and that really piled the pressure on Vidarbha and helped extend the lead. Rajneesh Gurbani was excellent with a five-wicket haul as well and definitely deserves a mention. It'll be a tough job for Vidarbha to get back into this one, covering up a 116-run deficit on a track that still seems to be aiding seam movement. It requires a special performance from at least one of their top batsmen, and they certainly have the batting line-up for it. Jaffer, Fazal, Sanjay, and co. need to put their best foot forward. Join us for Vidarbha's second innings in a few minutes.

100.5

U Yadav to Nair, out Caught by Akshay Wadkar! Short ball on off, Nair tries the limbo cut, and finally his vigil at the crease, accounting for more than half of Karnataka's runs, comes to an end. Excellent innings by him. He inevitably goes for that shot and this time, gets a feather through to the wicket-keeper to bring his exemplary innings to an end. Nair c Akshay Wadkar b U Yadav 153(287) [4s-20 6s-1]

U Yadav to Nair, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

Field closing in to prevent the single from Karun Nair

100.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, good length outside off, quite wide and left alone by Nair

100.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length just outside off, gets an edge to third man

100.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, full and just outsid eoff, Nair tranfers his weight onto that shot without any feet and drives it crisply to cover. No runs again

100.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, seaming away, and Nair plays it late to guide it to point

Umesh continues.

99.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Aravind, no run, back of a length outside off, Aravind gets back and defends it off the back foot right under his eyes. Nair heaves a sigh of relief

99.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Aravind, no run, oh what a peach! Would have beaten an opener, leave alone a number 11! Good length delivery from round the wicket coming with the the angle and then seaming away from the batsman. Beats the batsman's back foot defence inside the line

99.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, good length just outside off, Nair opens the face and guides it square of the wicket and finally they've taken the single. Nair decides that he can trust Aravind with playing out two balls

99.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, short and wide outside off, Nair stays in the crease and guides it square of the wicket with good timing. Still not taking the single

99.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, guides towards third man with an open bat face. Nair continues to farm the strike

99.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full and swiging in, but into the pads as Nair keeps a still head and clips it away easily to deep mid-wicket for a single

98.6

U Yadav to Aravind, no run, wayward from Yadav, full and very wide outside off. Aravind, whose job is to play out the over, doesn't bother with it

98.5

U Yadav to Aravind, no run, good length going away from the left-hander and seaming in after bouncing. Aravind does well to come forward and pushes is back to Yadav

98.4

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, short-ish outside off, Nair gets on top of it and punches it in front of point towards the sweeper cover fence for a single

98.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length on the pads, Nair stays in his crease and tucks it towards mid-on

98.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away sharply. Nair is unfazed as he shoulders arms

98.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, good length on the pads, clipped to the man at wide mid-on. Karnataka on 299 now. 4 short of Karun Nair's Test best

97.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Aravind, no run, full on the pads, clipped away to deep square leg and the single is refused

97.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, oh the drama to farm the strike! good length on off, Nair shuffled across and pushed it to cover who ran in and fired in a throw at the striker's end and Aravind was through. Aravind has to play out one ball

97.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, Nair gets on his toes and defends off the back foot into the off-side

97.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 2 runs, full and on the pads, clipped away to deep mid wicket for a couple, and a magnificent 150 for Karun in the context of this match

97.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, left alone

97.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full ball outside off, driven off the meat to the man at deep extra cover. Bit of a check-drive, that. Nair doesn't take the single as he seems to be farming the strike while batting with the number 11

96.6

U Yadav to Aravind, no run, over the wicket and across the left-hander, pitching outside off and moving back into the southpaw, and Aravind shoulders arms watchfully. Good carry through to the keeper

Sreenath Aravind, left handed bat, comes to the crease

96.5

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, out Lbw!! Full ball, a half-volley on the pads, and Vinay Kumar has just missed the flick in this case. The ball didn't deserve a wicket but due to some poor glancing technique as mentioned in the previous delivery, he has missed that ball and caught plumb in front. No hawk-eye here, but it seems to be hitting bottom of middle stump. In fact replays show that it was an out-swinger directed at leg-stump but swung towards middle and off. I have to gobble up my words. This was a dream delivery that started swinging away quite late and struck him on the pads. Excellent delivery. Vinay Kumar lbw b U Yadav 21(89) [4s-3]

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

96.4

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, full ball on the pads, Vinay Kumar is early into the glance and his head is not over the ball as he gets a leading edge towards cover point. Not very balanced while trying to play that flick

96.3

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length wide outside off, Vinay Kumar plays inside the line again and gets into position for a mock-defensive shot

96.2

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away and bouncing awkwardly. Vinay Kumar plays inside the line. Not beaten, effectively a leave.

96.1

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away and too wide again from Umesh, and Vinay Kumar is happy to leave that alone

95.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, byes, 1 run, good length wide outside off, leaves the batsman with the angle and the ball evades the keeper too. I know keeping is a tough job, but that was a poor effort as a bye is conceded. Really should have got to that

95.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length from round the wicket, Vinay Kumar stays back, comes into a front-on stance and defends off the back foot

95.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, good length in the channel outside off, seaming in and Vinay Kumar on the back foot does well to jab his bat down in time

95.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length and seaming in, the batsman plays inside the line. Played down the wrong line in the end, and the ball beats the edge and goes through to Akshay Wadkar

95.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, good carry and a bit of nip away from the righty as well. The batsman watchfully leaves it alone

95.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, good length just outside off, seaming in and stayng low. Vinay Kumar is unfazed as he shoulders arms

94.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, good length outside off, pushed to the man in front of point

94.5

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length wide outside off, and Nair has no trouble shouldering arms

94.4

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, half-volley outside off, swinging away, and Vinay Kumar through cover and mid-off. Oh wait! Cover dives to his left to stop that, but they concede one because he deflects it unintentionally to mid-off

94.3

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, out-swinger in the channel outside off, a bit of seam movement away as well and good leave by Vinay Kumar. Looks like he is watching the seam

94.2

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, good length delivery a little wide of off, Vinay Kumar shuffles across towards off and shoulders arms

94.1

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away and left alone

India's national spearhead Umesh Yadav into the attack

93.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away and Nair looks to poke at it off the back foot, but withdraws it at the end. Effectively beaten. Finally a ball in the channel and Gurbani has caused some trouble straight away

93.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length delivery outside off, but still too wide to cause any alarms. Left alone by Nair

93.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full length delivery wide outside off. Loopy trajectory, and Nair lets it go through to the keeper

93.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, another one drifting down leg, Nair misses the glance and Akshay Wadkar collects behind the stumps. Wayward start by the man who got a fifer yesterday

93.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length onto the thigh guard, good bounce, and Nair tries to glance. It hits the thigh-guard and goes to the keeper on the bounce

93.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, dead-batted

10:05AM Great news! The light seems to be much better and the players are immediately out at the center! The umpires are out as well and they are happy with the light after a one-hour delay. Now, back to the action straight away. Karun Nair will look to turn this into a double, and his penchant of performing in crunch games continues. Back to the live action now! Gurbani continues.

9:50AM local time: Not the best news out at the center. The drizzle does seem to have ceased, but the light is simply not good enough for play. The umpires have had a look and they are certainly not impressed. Let's hope that the clouds make way for some clear skies soon. I'm afraid that's all we have from our side at the moment. Do stay with us. We'll keep you updated while we can.

9:10AM: Unfortunately, we have a bit of a drizzle this morning here at Kolkata. Definitely looks like a passing shower. Not really even a shower; the pitch and outfield have been covered for precautionary reasons. However, this could, once again, help out the seam bowlers today. The surface did seem to dry up and flatten out yesterday, but we could see another 10+ wicket day if some of the water seeps through and breathes some life into it for the seamers. Don't go anywhere, we will be back with live action soon.

8:45AM local time: Good morning and welcome to Day 3 of this riveting semi-final between Karnataka and Vidarbha. After a brief collapse yesterday, Karnataka clawed their way back into the game, thanks to a second-guess innings by the captain and a stellar, timely hundred by Test triple-centurion Karun Nair. Karnataka have managed to stretch the lead past 100, and Vidarbha need something special from their batsmen to emerge victorious from this position. Join us for the live action at 9:00AM local time

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16:11 Local Time: The umpires seem to think that the light has faded further and that is officially stumps on Day 2. The pacers didn't seem as effective as they did last evening, and Nair and Gautam dominated the morning session compiling a 139-run stand. Gautam fell at the stroke of lunch and that triggered a collapse, as Karnataka lost a further 4 wickets very quickly. However, Vinay Kumar led from the front and played second fiddle to Karun Nair who continues to score freely, pushing the leading past 100. This puts a lot of pressure on Vidarbha for the second innings, especially in these seam-friendly conditions. It was a pleasure bringing you the action today. Join us for live action on Day 3 at 9:00AM local time. Until then, sayonara!

92.6

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, full and wide outside off, Vinay Kumar thinks about the drive but it strikes him that it is too late in the day to lose his wicket. Ends up letting it go through to the keeper

92.5

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Nair tries to evade but deciding on the leave a little too late. End up guiding it off the face of the bat to third man for a single

92.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away, and Nair shoulders arms. He won't be bothered by that

92.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, Nair gets on his toes and guides it towards point

92.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, short ball in line with middle, Nair just easily ducks under it. He really should keep his eyes on the ball rather than face gully. Very dangerous in case it stays low

92.1

U Yadav to Nair, FOUR, half-volley on middle and leg, clipped away with great balance and head position to the deep mid-wicket fence for four

A glance at the light-meter again. Looks like it is good enough

91.6

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, no run, short and wide out-swinger outside off, seaming away as well and looks even more wide after the seam movement. Three very mediocre deliveries after that jaffa on the third ball

91.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, back of a length on the pads, tucked away easily to fine leg for a comfortable single

91.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length on middle and leg, clipped towards short mid-wicket

91.3

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, back of a length on middle, seaming into the rib-cage and it hurried onto the batsman. A top-edge lobs up, squares up the batsman, and lands in the vacant region between backward point and the slip cordon. Oh, so unfortunate for Siddesh Neral

91.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, short outside off, Nair hangs back, gets on his toes and steers it with a vertical bat to deep backward point for a single

91.1

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, Nair gets on the back foot, stands tall, and punches it towards short extra cover

Siddesh Neral [18.0-1-75-0] is back into the attack

90.6

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, a little too wide to cause trouble. Vinay Kumar plays a mock-defence inside the line as it sails through to the keeper

90.5

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, pitching on a length but a set of stumps outside off, and seaming very sharply away. The ball really needs to be straighter. Yadav bowling everywhere but in the channel

90.4

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, back of a length on the pads, ctucked away in front of square for a single. The man inside the circle picks up

90.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, another back of a length delivery outside off, left alone by Nair

90.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, good length outside off, left alone

90.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, good bounce, Nair stands talls and gets a low inside edge nearly onto the stumps! Just bouncing over the bails and trundling through towards the keeper

A bit of a hold-up because Nair has gone off the field. Nothing serious, perhaps just a nature's call. Now let's turn off the euphemisms and turn on the live action. Nair is back and Umesh Yadav continues.

89.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length and seaming in but a touch to straight as it goes down leg side, missing the attempted glance by Vinay

89.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, full outside off stump and swinging in a touch, and then seaming away at the last moment, to beat the attempted off-drive from Vinay Kumar

89.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length on leg, angling towards off-stump and Vinay Kumar gets on the back foot, opens up his stance and punches it off his toes towards mid-off

89.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length just outside off, seaming in sharply, and left alone by Vinay

Some movement from construction workers behind the sight-screen, holding up the cricket out in the center. Vinay isn't happy, and neither is the bowler, who has had to start his run-up three times. Brief delay, but we are back on with live action now.

89.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, amazing carry through to the keeper, as it seams away off the deck sharply and goes through to the keeper. Too wide to bother Vinay Kumar who shoulders arms

89.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in sharply and staying low, perilously close to off-stump as Vinay Kumar goes on the back foot and shoulders arms. Could have been curtains for Vinay Kumar if this was in line

88.6

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, good length delivery on the pads, Vinay Kumar turns it away in front of square on the leg side for a comfortable single

88.5

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, good length just outside off, Vinay Kumar stays in the crease and defends it off the outside half of the bat into the off-side

88.4

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, Umesh bowls from wide of the stumps, but it pitches a few sets of stumps from the right line as well, and seams away. Too wide to cause any alarms for the batsmen

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, short just outside off, seaming in sharply and Vinay has to lift his hands to avoid contact. Good bounce, higher than expected, and good carry through to the keeper as well

88.1

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away, and Vinay Kumar is on the back foot, tries to play the back foot defensive but ends up playing inside the line in the last moment. Effectively a leave

87.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, FOUR, full and just wide of off stump, Nair leans into a punchy check drive to the deep extra cover fence

87.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length on leg stump, angling towards off-stump, Nair is on his toes to get on top of the bounce and punches it towards cover point

87.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length on leg stump, angling away and seaming away as well. Nair is happy to let that sail through to the keeper

87.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length on the hips, tucked away to short mid-wicket

87.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length from round the wicket, the LBW completely out of the equation, and Nair stays front on to defend it towards short mid-wicket

87.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length on off, Nair comes forward, walks at the bowler and check-drives it softly to mid-off

Time for the players to have a well-deserved drinks break. Karnataka, after a brief collapse, are well on course for a 100+ lead. And these runs by Vinay Kumar, the Karnataka skipper, must really be hurting Vidarbha in the context of this match.

86.6

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length outside off, too wide to cause any alarms, Vinay Kumar shuffles across to off-stump and watchfully sees it through to the keeper

86.5

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, good length on middle, seaming into the pads, and Nair flicks it to backward square leg for a single. It was in the air for a while, but that region is completely vacant

U Yadav to Nair, no run, short ball into the ribcage, Umesh saw that Nair has a side-on stance, and Nair hops again, to play it down beside him, taking his bottom hand off the bat to prevent it from lobbing up

86.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, Nair hops to get on top of it and defends off the back foot

86.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away, left alone

85.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, pitching outside leg, striking outside leg, loud appeal, but it is objectively not out. Vinay Kumar plays down the wrong line and misses it completely

85.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length from round the wicket, across the right-hander, and it beats the inside-edge. It jagged a little inwards and straightened

85.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length on off, Vinay Kumar stays back in the crease and tucks it to square leg

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, good length on off, Vinay Kumar pokes tentatively, and a touch of movement inwards. A thick inside-edge thuds onto the pads and trundles away towards point

85.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, back of a length on middle, drifitng down leg, and Vinay Kumar misses the glance after shuffles across to off, and it goes through to Akshay Wadkar behind the stumps

84.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, nipping away, left alone

84.5

U Yadav to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, pats off the back foot into the off-side

Some issue with the landing area from this end. A groundstaff runs in with the big hammer, Thor-ing the ground even.

80.6

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, he's played this late to cover but couldn't get the intended single to cover

80.5

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, leg byes, 1 run, seaming in from a fuller length this time, and all Vinay Kumar could offer was his pad. Planted on leg-stump, so cannot be out leg-before

80.4

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, 2 runs, seams in from back of a length, Vinay Kumar works it through mid-wicket

80.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, starts with a line of the pads, is picked uppishly to fine leg

Vidarbha take the second new ball

80.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, left off the front foot

80.1

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, full outside off, blocked

Oh okay, they will continue will the old ball for now. Maybe mid over

Vidarbha should take the second new ball that's due now. 24 overs left in the day.

79.6

Wakhare to Vinay Kumar, no run, gets forward and blocked into the off-side

79.5

Wakhare to Vinay Kumar, no run, and again, from the crease

79.4

Wakhare to Vinay Kumar, no run, blocked

79.3

Wakhare to Vinay Kumar, no run, a stumping appeal. The ball skids past the outside edge, as Vinay Kumar stretches in front to defend. Back foot seems grounded, so Vinay Kumar should be fine. Third umpire's taking his own good time. [Five minutes later] It's still going on. [Three minutes later] Now comes the decision

79.2

Wakhare to Nair, 1 run, on off-stump, reverse-swept to deep backward point

79.1

Wakhare to Nair, no run, length ball outside off, defended

78.6

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, that's a top-edged pull that's been fielded by the deep backward square fielder. Not in control at all - and not for the first time against the short ball today - but gets lucky with the placement

78.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, doesn't flirt with the short ball. There's a third man in place for the upper-cut he plays

Wakhare to Vinay Kumar, no run, half a step to squeeze it back to Wakhare

75.5

Wakhare to Vinay Kumar, no run, taps it to cover off the front foot

75.4

Wakhare to Nair, 1 run, top-edge on the sweep but there's no one at short fine leg

75.3

Wakhare to Nair, no run, some turn on this but the length's short, Nair blocks it back

75.2

Wakhare to Nair, no run, blocked to forward short leg

75.1

Wakhare to Nair, no run, makes a touch of room and strokes it to cover

02:36pm local: Welcome back. We're back live

Tea, Day 2 ~ 02:16pm local: Gautam's wicket at the stroke of lunch did exactly what Karnataka feared. It ushered a session which was dominated by Vidarbha. Rajneesh Gurbani scalped a five-for, while Sarwate chipped in with Abhimanyu Mithun's wicket. But Karun Nair strode towards an important hundred at the Eden Gardens, that arguably has kept Vidarbha wanting more out of a session they bossed. Join us back in fifteen for the evening session..

74.6

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, no run, left alone outside off

74.5

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, no run, levers his bat up outside off. Some seam movement for Siddesh Neral here; this one decks in

74.4

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, no run, squeezes out a full length delivery towards mid-on

74.3

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, no run, brilliant ball. Vinay Kumar is sucked forward into defending but Siddesh Neral just gets the ball to hold its line outside off. Beaten

74.2

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, no run, gets forward and pushes into the off-side

Two slips and a gully in place. Most probably the last over before tea

74.1

Siddesh Neral to Vinay Kumar, no run, starts with a fifth stumps line; left alone

Siddesh Neral [13.0-0-56-0] is back into the attack

73.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, and again

73.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, left alone outside off

73.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, almost draws him into playing this outside off. Nair just about withdraws his bat

73.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, darts in from outside off and pings the front thigh

73.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, thrusted to point

73.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, FOUR, now he's seen a short ball and upper-tapped it over the keeper's head with an arched back

72.6

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, and again

72.5

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, blocked

72.4

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, goes back and across to keep this quicker delivery out

72.3

Sarwate to Nair, 1 run, that's a shovel-sweep played with a 45-degree bat to deep mid wicket

72.2

Sarwate to Nair, no run, gets forward and defends it

72.1

Sarwate to Nair, FOUR, veering down, Nair gets a bit of bat on this through fine leg

71.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, FOUR, he wasn't in control of this. Ends up chipping this over the bowler's head

71.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, jabs the short of length ball through point and runs

71.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full on fourth stumps, Nair defends it

71.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, wanted to run a quick single to cover-point but has to run back to the crease

71.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full and far outside off, left alone

71.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, blocked off the back foot

70.6

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, far forward to defend this

70.5

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, cramped for room outside off but he's sliced it out to point

70.4

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, pushed out to cover

70.3

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, another one. Left-arm spinner Sarwate's bowling full and quick from round the wicket

70.2

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, darted fuller, blocked

70.1

Sarwate to Vinay Kumar, no run, goes deep in his crease and blocks

69.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, 1 run, waits for it and and pats the ball wide of mid-on

69.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, even fuller, Vinay Kumar blocks it to square leg

69.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Vinay Kumar, no run, extra bounce, Vinay Kumar yanks his bottom hand off but not quite as quickly as he should have. Rapped on the thumb I suppose

69.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, two fielders backward of square but this miscued pull shot falls safe. Couldn't quite go back, Nair here, and got it off the top-edge

69.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, defends it to mid-off from the crease

69.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, gets some outswing but the line's wide from over the wicket

Rajneesh Gurbani [22.0-2-71-5] is back into the attack

68.6

Sarwate to Nair, 1 run, stuttering single round the corner this time

68.5

Sarwate to Nair, no run, pushed it back down the track. Aborts the single he intended

68.4

Sarwate to Nair, FOUR, gets this sweep right off the middle. Boundary through backward square leg

Sarwate to Mithun, out Bowled!! Makes a little room to drive inside-out from in front of the stumps, and misses. Mithun b Sarwate 10(25) [4s-2]

Sarwate to Mithun, THAT'S OUT!! Bowled!!

68.1

Sarwate to Mithun, no run, bottom-hands the drive to short cover

67.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, left alone outside off

67.5

U Yadav to Nair, 2 runs, and through mid-wicket this time

67.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, flicked wide of mid-on

67.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, keeps a little low on stumps, Nair adjusts and jams it out

67.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, pushed out into the cover

67.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, left alone outside off

66.6

Sarwate to Nair, 1 run, 100 for Nair! 13th First Class hundred for the 26-year-old. Uses his feet, works the ball through mid-wicket and then takes his helmet off to celebrate the milestone. And now, he's taken his gloves off, gotten on his knees and shot an invisible arrow out of his pretty invisible bow. Celebrations, I tell ya

U Yadav to Mithun, no run, good length on the stumps, Mithun pushes it into the leg-side

61.4

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, looks to punch on the up, the ball skids on takes the inside edge and rolls into the leg-side

61.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, opens the bat face and guides it to backward point

61.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, stays on the back foot and punches the ball to covers

61.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, good length on the stumps, tucked into the leg-side

Umesh Yadav [17.0-2-58-2] is back into the attack

Time for drinks, and my colleague rightly opines that Gautam's wicket at the stroke of lunch changed it all and there was a shift in momentum. Vidarbha well on their way to conceding a smaller lead than they would have expected a few hours ago

60.6

Siddesh Neral to Mithun, FOUR, oh audacious shot! Pitched up, and he has his feet glued to the crease as he gets under it to loft it over mid-on to the long on fence for four. Doesn't quite get the elevation he was hoping for, but manages to evade the mid-on fielder who was too wide. It was quite flat, and Nair at the non-striker's end was seen taking evasive action

60.5

Siddesh Neral to Mithun, no run, back of a length just outside off, cramped for room and Mithun uses his bottom hand to punch it off the back foot towards cover point

60.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, good length outside off, steered with a vertical bat square of the wicket for a single

60.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length in the channel outside off, Nair pushes it to cover from the crease

60.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length just outside off, seaming in a touch, and missing off-stump by about a stump and a half as Nair shoulders arms. Nair on 85 now, nearing a well-deserved hundred

60.1

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, Nair gets back quickly and blocks it back down the pitch

59.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mithun, FOUR, back of a length outside off, a nothing shot, trying to cover drive with his feet rooted to LEG-STUMP, and it is inside-edged past leg-stump to fine leg for four

Abhimanyu Mithun, right handed bat, comes to the crease

59.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gowtham, out Caught by Wankhade!! Full ball on off, Gowtham getting his bat down and trying to drive with an arc going towards leg-side. Ends up slicing it off the outer half of the bat to Wankhade at backward point. Gowtham c Wankhade b Rajneesh Gurbani 1(3)

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gowtham, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

59.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, good length delivery on the pads, clipped away behind square on the leg-side for a single

59.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length just outside off, Nair comes forward and blocks it right into the ground. It bounces and spits up to hit his bat again

59.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length just outside off, Nair shoulders arms

59.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gowtham, 1 run, good length delivery outside off, Gowtham plays a forward defensive that has enough timing to get to extra cover for a single

58.6

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, good length ball too wid eof off to cause any trouble, and Nair is content with letting that one go through to the keeper

58.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, FOUR, full and on the pads, clipped away with ease to the deep mid wicket fence. Effortless short. All timing.

58.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, Nair stuck in the crease again, and Nair pokes away from his body. The ball beats the edge of the set batsman. Oh this is excellent cricket!

58.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length ball coming in with the angle, left alone by Nair again

58.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, Nair shoulders arms. A little bit of seam movement into the batsman

58.1

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, very quick and skiddy, bounces and gets quickly onto Nair. He is upto it and defends off the back foot

57.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gowtham, no run, full out-swinger wide of off-stump, a hint of seam movement away after pitching, Gowtham is drawn into a wafty drive away from his body and it beats his outside edge

Krishnappa Gowtham, right handed bat, comes to the crease

57.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, out Caught by Faiz Fazal!! Back of a length just outside off, straightening a touch off the seam, Shreyas Gopal hops and gets some bat on it. Hard hands and he gets a thick edge through to Fazal at first slip who dives low to his left to take it. It really was the keeper's catch, but well-taken by the Vidarbha skipper. Six down, and Vidarbha well on their way to minimize the lead. Shreyas Gopal c Faiz Fazal b Rajneesh Gurbani 7(13) [4s-1]

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

57.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, slightly over-pitched and Shreyas Gopal comes forward and check-drives it to short cover off a half-cocked stance

57.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, good length outside off, seaming in off the deck and Shreyas Gopal shoulders arms

57.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, 2 runs, good length outside off, Nair leans into the drive and the man at point runs across and dives to his right to save a boundary

57.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, short andwide, slashed away to the man at deep backward point for a single. Powerful, but poor placement. Anywhere either side of him would have fetched him an easy four. Missed out in this case

56.6

Siddesh Neral to Shreyas Gopal, no run, back of a length outside off, Shreyas Gopal comes forward and drives away fromt he body. The ball moved away off the seam, maintained its seam position after bouncing and continued to swing away into the keeper's gloves after beating the outside edge of Shreyas Gopal

56.5

Siddesh Neral to Shreyas Gopal, no run, on a good length outside off, jagging in off the seam and Shreyas Gopal shoulders arms

56.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, good length delivery outside off, Nair comes forward and dabs it in front of point as they scamper across for a single. The man at cover comes in and fires ina throw and there is no one backing up. They don't run any extra overthrows

56.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length wide outside off, Nair shoulders arms as the ball moves sharply away off the seam

56.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in and swinging late after the bounce into Akshay's gloves as Nair shoulders arms

56.1

Siddesh Neral to Shreyas Gopal, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Shreyas Gopal stays back and pokes tentatively, gets it off the outer-half to backward point for a quick single

55.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length outside off, not much movement, and Nair comes forward to transfer his weight into that cover drive. The ball goes straight to the man at short cover. Just leaned into that shot, but didn't place it too well

55.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length outside off, too wide to cause any trouble, but in an ideal-ish channel. Nair has good enough off-stump awareness to shoulder arms to that ball

55.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length delivery seaming in towards middle and leg, Nair stays back and nudges it towards short mid-wicket for a quick single. Took his bottom-hand off the bat, in case it lobbed up

55.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, short delivery outside off, Nair gets on the back foot and on top of the bounce and punches it to cover point

55.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, FOUR, good length on middle, Nair comes across towards off, and clips it away to the deep mid wicket boundary for four. Well-balanced shot, and Karnataka into the lead now

55.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, FOUR, back of a length outside off, seaming away, Nair pokes at it and he gets a fortuitous boundary as it flies between gully and backward point for four to the third man fence

54.6

Siddesh Neral to Shreyas Gopal, no run, back of a length wide outside off, seaming in and Shreyas Gopal is happy to let that one go

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, good length delivery outside off, Nair throw his bat at it with feet cemented to the ground, gets it off the outer half towards third man. It was in the air for a while, but safe

54.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length just outside off, Nair blocks it from inside the crease and right under his eyes

54.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length and an even better bounce, and it seaming in a little from outside off. The batsman raises the bat getting it out of the line

54.1

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in sharply but still not close enough to off-stump, Nair comes forward and shoulders arms. Good carry through to the keeper

Siddesh Neral [8.0-0-34-0] is back into the attack

53.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away a touch, and Shreyas Gopal is thinking of playing at it, but gets his bat inside the line at the last moment after shuffling across to off-stump. That shuffling gave him better off-stump awareness and a good leave in the end

53.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, good length just outside off, Shreyas Gopal comes forward and pushes it to cover

53.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, FOUR, full outside off, in the channel, and some seam in, Shreyas Gopal tried the transfer-of-weight cover drive and left a huge gap between bat and pad in the process. PLayed away from his body, and he gets an inside-edge past leg-stump to the fine leg fence for four

53.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Shreyas Gopal, no run, back of a length and good bounce as it gets to the batsman's chest to jabs it down after hopping onto the back foot

Shreyas Gopal, right handed bat, comes to the crease

53.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Binny, out Caught by Akshay Wadkar!! On a good length just in the channel outside off, and it didn't seem to do much laterally in real time. Might have straightening a touch as Binny was too early into a high-backlift punch, and he gets a feather of an edge through to Wadkar with the mitts on. A wicket against the run of play and Vidarbha can now hope to concede a smuch smaller lead. Binny c Akshay Wadkar b Rajneesh Gurbani 4(12) [4s-1]

Rajneesh Gurbani to Binny, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

53.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, short and not fast enough, a lot of width too, and Nair shifts his weight back to cut it towards deep backward point for a single

52.6

U Yadav to Binny, no run, back of a length outside off, Binny guides it to backward point with an open face

52.6

U Yadav to Nair, 2 wides, very short, miles over the batsman's head, and overs the leaping keeper too, but third man is quick to get around to long stop and fire in the throw. 2 wides

52.5

U Yadav to Nair, no run, short ball on off, Nair gets on his knees and takes evasive action. Sways out of the way and drops his wrists. Good technique

52.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, good length delivery on off-stump, Nair is stuck in the crease and lets the ball come on to him to defend under his eyes. Still leaving a gap between bat and pad, and not very compact, whcih he should be on a seaming track

52.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length a little wide of off, a small amount of lateral deviation away, basically straightening, and Nair is happy to leave that one alone

52.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, Nair gets on top of it and steers it to the man at point after getting on top of the bounce

52.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length on middle, Nair gets back and dead-bats off the back foot. Played it very late, and that's the right way to play on a seaming track

51.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, straight back of a length ball angling into the pads, and turned away to deep square leg for an easy single

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length ball cutting in towards the leg-stump, Nair tries a cute shot to clip it off the back foot, but gets an inside-edge on to his pad

51.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, Nair hangs back in the crease and plays a back foot defence under his eyes

51.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, short ball, not too short though, but it takes off from the pitch. Perhaps a crack? Oh is this the Eden or the Gabba? the keeper collects it near his head and it beats the back foot defensive from the batsman. No chance of making contact. Sudden deviation

51.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off again, seaming back in and good carry through to Wadkar behind the stumps as Nair leaves it alone

50.6

U Yadav to Binny, no run, back of a length wide outside off, even further wide after it seams away sharply. The scrambled seam ball I think, and Binny is happy to let that go through to the keeper

50.5

U Yadav to Binny, no run, poor delivery on the pads, clipped away to the man in front of square inside the circle. Couldn't find the gap, and just picked out the fielder

50.4

U Yadav to Binny, no run, back of a length just outside off, Binny gets back in the crease and pushes it off the back foot back to the bowler

50.3

U Yadav to Binny, no run, back of a length in the channel outside off, Binny is squared up and it beats the outside edge, hint of away movement off the seam

50.2

U Yadav to Binny, no run, short ball just in the channel outside off, Binny tries to get on top of it, but it gets big on him so he guides it to backward point taking the bottom hand off the bat

50.1

U Yadav to Binny, no run, full-ish ball on middle, Binny comes across and clips it to mid-on

49.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, seaming in a tad, tucked towards the man at short mid-wicket

49.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length just outside off, defended under his eyes

49.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, SIX, oh what strong fore-arms! A fully side-on stance and into the ribcage, Nair gets on it a bit late and just short-arm-jabs that twist-pull at the last moment. Makes excellent contact and it goes for a flat six over the backward square leg fence

49.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, loopy low full-toss, perhaps slower than the stock ball, and Nair tries to drive without any feet, ends up miscuing it to wide mid-on

49.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, no lateral movement, and Nair lets it go through to the keeper. A hint of away movement off a length there

49.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length and a few stumps outside the channel called the "corridor of uncertainly". Nair shoulders arms. Good carry through to Akshay Wadkar though

Rajneesh Gurbani [16.0-2-42-2] is back into the attack

48.6

U Yadav to Binny, FOUR, full ball outside leg-stump, Binny just has to get some bat on it, which he does, and the ball races away to the fine leg fence for four

48.5

U Yadav to Binny, no run, back of a length on leg stump, going away with the angle, Binny misses the flick, or does he? There's a big appeal for a catch down leg side, but the umpire it unmoved

48.4

U Yadav to Binny, no run, better line on off-stump, on a good length, and Binny comes forward to push it back to the bowler right under his eyes

48.3

U Yadav to Binny, no run, good length delivery drifting quite far down leg side. Binny just watches it goes through with ridicule

Welcome to the post-lunch session. Umesh Yadav will finish off the last 4 balls of this over, having dismissed Gautam off the last ball before lunch. Binny takes a leg-stump guard, and he is about to face Yadav.

11:34 local: A session thoroughly dominated by Karnataka. Both CM Gautam and Karun Nair played with purpose and panache as they engineered a 139-stand for the fourth wicket giving nothing away for the opposition bowlers. CM Gautam, in particular, looked fluent and must say he wasted yet another opportunity to make a big score and hundred, of course. Vidarbha's captain Faiz Fazal mused over several options for the last over before lunch and he eventually tossed the ball to the most experienced Umesh Yadav. All CM Gautam needed to do was see off the over, but instead he plays a rash shot and departs. Will that wicket swing momentum in Vidarbha's favour? Karnataka, though, have a very strong batting line-up. Their number eleven, Sreenath Aravind, hit a fifty in the last game. Back in 40 for all the answers...

48.2

U Yadav to Gautam, out Caught by Wakhare!! That's a ridiculous stroke from the experienced campaigner. Short and wide, he shuffles across a fraction and throws his bat on the cut, slices off the thick outside half and flies straight to the man at deep backward point. Vidarbha are delighted as they traipse back to the pavilion for lunch. Gautam c Wakhare b U Yadav 73(125) [4s-8]

U Yadav to Gautam, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

48.1

U Yadav to Gautam, 2 runs, full on leg stump, easy peasy for CM Gautam who works to deep square for a couple of runs

Umesh Yadav [14.0-1-50-1] is back into the attack

Last over before lunch

47.6

Wakhare to Nair, no run, spins back in from a length and beats Nair on the inside edge as he looked to defend. Loud shout for lbw, but the impact's well outside off

47.5

Wakhare to Nair, no run, punches off the back foot to short mid-wicket

47.4

Wakhare to Nair, no run, flicks gently to mid-on

47.3

Wakhare to Nair, no run, sliding in with the angle, wristed to short mid-wicket

47.2

Wakhare to Nair, no run, gets forward and offers dead hands

47.1

Wakhare to Nair, no run, pushed through quicker outside off, driven to mid-off

46.6

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, looks to sweep and gets an inside edge which dribbles to the left of the keeper

46.5

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, quicker on middle, blocked

46.4

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, solid in defence

46.3

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, flighted delivery on off, pushed to cover

46.2

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, forward and blocked

46.1

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, signalled as dead ball. Sliding down, Gautam lets it go, the keeper misses and it rolls down to the fine leg fence. Since the batsman didn't attempt to play, it's given as a dead ball

45.6

Wakhare to Nair, no run, pushed into the leg-side off the back foot

45.5

Wakhare to Nair, no run, attempts the reverse sweep and misses, struck well outside off stump

45.4

Wakhare to Nair, no run, blocked to FSL

45.3

Wakhare to Gautam, 1 run, full and wide outside off, Gautam leans forward and caresses it to sweeper cover

45.2

Wakhare to Gautam, no run, slightly fuller but not good enough to get Gautam forward, punched to mid-on again

45.1

Wakhare to Gautam, no run, short-ish ball, not much turn, and flat trajectory, Gautam hangs back and pusges it mid-on

Akshay Wakhare, right-arm off break, comes into the attack

44.6

Sarwate to Nair, no run, floated up on leg-stump, flicked to square leg

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, another paddle, this one hits him on the glove and pops in no-man's land at silly point

42.1

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, sprays down leg, Gautam looks for the paddle and misses by quite some distance

41.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, opens the bat face and deliberately places the drive in the gap between gully and backward point

41.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, angles his bat and defends it to backward point

41.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, blocked to short mid-wicket

41.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, moves back in sharply once more, left alone to the keeper

41.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, huge appeal for leg before, but that looked a bit high. This back of a length delivery tailed back a long way after landing just outside off and struck Gautam on the flap of the pad as he missed the forward defence. The only thing that may have saved Gautam was the height IMO

41.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, opens the face of the bat and drives a full ball to cover-point

40.6

Sarwate to Nair, no run, driven off the front foot, straight to mid-off this time

40.5

Sarwate to Gautam, 1 run, extends the defensive push to mid-off and races across for a quick single

40.4

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, slips down leg, Gautam swings and misses

40.3

Sarwate to Gautam, FOUR, rocks back in his crease and smacks the punch off the back foot, through covers. No stopping that

40.2

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, pitches outside leg and raps him below the knee roll. A loud appeal. No dice

40.1

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, makes room and miscues the inside out drive to backward point

39.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 2 runs, tucked off the hip to the left of deep square

39.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, jumps across off and drives with a closed bat face to mid-on

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, walks across and tucks the ball round the corner

39.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, presses forward and pushes the ball back down the pitch

39.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, jags back in sharply after pitching, but the line isn't close enough to draw a stroke from the batsman

38.6

Sarwate to Nair, no run, blocked from the crease

38.5

Sarwate to Nair, no run, skips down the pitch and pushes the drive back to the bowler

38.4

Sarwate to Nair, no run, armball on off, forward and defended

38.3

Sarwate to Nair, FOUR, gets down and paddles the sweep fine. A full ball that, Nair picked the line early and placed it to perfection

38.2

Sarwate to Nair, 2 runs, tucks a short ball through square leg and that's fifty for the very talented Karun Nair. His 16th in FC cricket

38.1

Sarwate to Gautam, 1 run, flicks past FSL and hustles for a quick single

37.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, skids towards the batsman after pitching, blocked with soft hands

37.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, walks across his stumps and shoulders arms

37.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, stays on the back foot and chops a back of a length delivery into the off-side

37.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full outside off, left alone to the keeper

37.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, gets across to push the ball into the off-side, the movement - off the pitch - takes the inside edge and rolls behind square leg

37.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, full and swerving in towards off, blocked off the front foot

Rajneesh Gurbani [12.0-2-33-2] is back into the attack

36.6

Sarwate to Gautam, 1 run, full outside off, eased down to long-off

36.5

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, flat outside off, cuts and finds backward point

36.4

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, quicker on off, blocked with dead hands

36.3

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, pushed back to the bowler

36.2

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, tossed up just outside off, blocked

36.1

Sarwate to Gautam, no run, prods across and defends

Aditya Sarwate, left-arm orthodox, comes into the attack

35.6

Faiz Fazal to Nair, no run, presses forward and presents a straight bat

35.5

Faiz Fazal to Nair, no run, back and across, dabbed into the off-side

35.4

Faiz Fazal to Nair, no run, pushed to covers

35.3

Faiz Fazal to Gautam, 1 run, taps the ball to mid-off and calls for a quick single. A direct hit would have been interesting at the non-striker's end

35.2

Faiz Fazal to Gautam, no run, full on middle, pushed back to the bowler

35.1

Faiz Fazal to Gautam, FOUR, a well-deserved fifty for CM Gautam. Back-to-back fifties for the veteran. Gets there with a gorgeous straight drive past the non-striker

34.6

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, doesn't commit to the drive, just a mere push past the bowler. Mid-on tidies up

34.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, compact forward defence into the off-side

34.4

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, leg byes, 1 run, walks across, plays outside the line of a in-decker and is rapped high on the back pad. Mild appeal, not given

34.3

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, way wide of off, Gautam lets it be

34.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, strays into the pads, Nair picks him through square leg

34.1

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, full inswinger just outside off, Nair drives firmly. Thick inside half and back to the bowler

33.6

Faiz Fazal to Gautam, byes, FOUR, absolute dross from Faiz Fazal. Lands this around middle and leg and it keeps drifting down with the angle. Past Gautam's attempted glance and the keeper's gloves

33.5

Faiz Fazal to Gautam, no run, flicks, but can't pierce the gap on the leg-side

33.4

Faiz Fazal to Gautam, no run, turned to mid-wicket with soft hands

33.3

Faiz Fazal to Gautam, no run, length ball on the stumps, blocked

33.2

Faiz Fazal to Gautam, no run, loopy full ball, sliding down, Gautam's early into the flick and the leading edge falls well short of the fielder at cover

33.1

Faiz Fazal to Nair, 1 run, walks forward and across, takes the ball from off and twirls his wrists to clip the ball to fine leg

Faiz Fazal, comes into the attack

32.6

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, glanced away off the pads to fine leg

32.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, in the channel outside off, tapped to cover

32.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, nip-backer, zips off the pitch and hits the splice as Nair tries to release his bottom hand off the blade

32.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, sits back inside his crease and blunts a fullish delivery towards extra cover

32.2

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, full and straight, flicked to short mid-wicket

32.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, 1 run, short ball on middle, pulled along the ground to deep mid-wicket

31.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, wide of off-stump, left alone to the keeper

31.5

U Yadav to Gautam, 1 run, hops inside the crease and tucks the length ball off his pads towards long leg

31.4

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, hangs back, gets on top of the boucne and steers it behind point

31.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away, and left alone once again by Nair

31.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, good length outside off, seaming away and left alone by Nair. Closer to off, Umesh! Closer to off!

31.1

U Yadav to Gautam, 1 run, back of a length delivery directed at the thigh guard, tucked away to fine leg for an easy single

Drinks are on the field and Karnataka have staged a recovery this morning, scoring 75 runs, without losing a wicket. Yesterday's last session would have caused some panic in the dressing room, but these two seasoned campaigners have come through for Karnataka. Vidarbha lacked the penetration from last evening, and let us hope that this drink energizes them to take a few wickets and perhaps even prevent them from taking a lead

30.6

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, 1 run, good length delivery in the channel outside off, Gautam plays it late and dabs it towards point for a qucik single

30.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, good length delivery on the pads, deflected to deep square leg for a single

30.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, a bit of movement off the pitch and a bit of shape in after it hit the deck and it goes through to the keeper. One of those rare occasions when the ball maintains the seam position after bouncing

30.3

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Gautam stays in the crease and dabs it to point for a quick single

30.2

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, full ball on off, Gautam walks at the bowler and crunches a drive straight to the man at mid-off

30.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off, Gautam shuffles across towards off and leaves it watchfully

29.6

U Yadav to Nair, FOUR, short-ish on off, Nair improvises by staying low, watching the ball like a hawk and ramping it over square third man for four. Audacious shot

29.5

U Yadav to Nair, 2 runs, good length on the pads, clipped away towards deep mid-wicket for a couple

29.4

U Yadav to Gautam, 1 run, short on middle, doesn't rise much, Gautam checks his pull to backward square leg for a single

29.3

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length on off, Gautam gets back in his crease and defends it

29.2

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length, seam movement away, but way too wide. Easily a wide in limited-overs cricket

29.1

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, good length in the channel outside off, Gautam walks forward and pushes it towards mid-off

28.6

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, 1 run, not very short, but Gautam manages to pull that one towards deep square leg for a single

28.5

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, oh this would have been troublesome if it was a little closer to off. Out-swinger, swinging away in the early part of the flight, and seaming in again. Gautam shoulders arms

28.4

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, back of a length on middle and leg, Gautam stays in the crease and defends it towards mid-on

28.3

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, back of a length on off, seaming away and beating the bat! Finally, the kind of jaffas we saw late last evening

28.2

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, good length outside off, Gautam leaves it alone as it seams in towards the off-stump, but not close enough to cause any alarms

28.1

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, full and wide outside off, and Nair leans into a princely drive towards the cover point boundary, Point comes around to collect the ball and the 100 is up for Karnataka

27.6

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, back of a length on off, Nair hangs back, and steers it from under his eyes towards deep point for a single

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, good length on middle and off, Gautam pushes it towards mid-on from the crease

26.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, back of a length wide outside off, seaming in sharply but too much bounce to cause trouble. Left alone by the batsman

25.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, good carry through to Akshay Wadkar behind the stumps as Nair shoulders arms

25.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, short ball outside off, Nair first tries to duck, then sees an opportunities to score, and tries to play the limbo-cut over the keeper. Misses it altogether

25.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, half-volley on the pads, and flickded aerially to the vacant region in front of square for an easy single

25.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, FOUR, half-volley outside off, Gautam walks down the track and across towards off and nails that full-blooded off-drive to the long off fence

25.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, back of a length on off, Nair stands tall and swiftly guides it with a vertical bat to deep backward point for a comfortable single

25.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length and some movement away, but he needs to be a little closer to the stumps to make the batsman play. This one is left alone by Nair

24.6

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, good length outside off, the ball stays low, but too wide to cause Gautam any trouble who shoulders arms comfortably

24.5

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 1 run, back of a length on off, Nair gets back in the crease and pushes it to extra cover for a quick single

24.4

Siddesh Neral to Nair, 2 runs, back of a length outside off, guided through the vacant backward point region for a couple

24.3

Siddesh Neral to Nair, FOUR, not too short but wide outside off, Nair frees his arms and cuts it in front of point for four. Karun is a short man, so a slightly short ball and he can get under it

24.2

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, 3 runs, full delivery outside off, Gautam leans into a princely cover drive and times it towards deep extra cover. The man at short cover gives chase to save the boundary and keep it to three

24.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, back of a length but a little wide, and a touch of seam movement off the pitch. Gautam shoulders arms after shuffling towards off-stump

Siddesh Neral [2.0-0-13-0] is back into the attack

23.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 2 runs, good length outside off, Nair comes forward and guides it to deep third man for a couple. Played with soft hands

23.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, Nair stays back and defends that right under his eyes. In perfect position to play that.

23.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full ball on middle and leg, Nair falls across towards off and manages to clip it to mid-on

23.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, good length delivery outside off, Gautam comes forward and dabs it to cover point and they tip-and-run for a scampered single. Quite street cricket tactic, this

23.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 2 runs, full and wide outside off, Gautam gets on his knee to flash that drive in front of point for a couple

23.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off seams in and skids a little low, Gautam tries to leave the ball. Bad leave, a little pre-meditated, and it raps him outside off on the pads. Stifled appeal, and not given

Rajneesh continues. Long spell for these two pacers.

22.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in but not close enough to off-stump to cause any alarms. Left alone by Nair

22.5

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, Nair shows good off-stump awareness and shoulders arms

22.4

U Yadav to Nair, 2 runs, full ball on off, Nair comes forward and drives crisply, Umesh tries to stop it with his boot but it ricochets towards long off for a couple

22.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length on off, seaming in sharply and at that pace, Nair was beaten as it thudded into his pad. A little too far towaards leg and no appeal. Fails to get his bat into the line in time

22.2

U Yadav to Nair, FOUR, full and on the pads, easy picking as he clips it to deep square leg for four. A rare bad ball by Umesh in this innings

22.1

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, Nair hops and dabs it into the ground and it trundles through towards points

21.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off, good bounce, and Gautam was crouching expecting a good length, but shifts his weigth back at the last moment and gets his bottom hand off the bat as it takes the outside edge and goes on the bounce to 3rd slip

21.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, short-ish outside off, sliced away to deep backward point for a single

21.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length on the pads, clipped towards square leg

21.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, FOUR, full o the pads, Nair flicks it with great timing. It was in the air for a moment but the area was vacant as he placed it in the gap towards deep mid wicket for four

21.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length outside off, drops on the seam and maintains the in-swing seam position after bouncing, and it swings in on the way to the keeper as the batsman shoulders arms

21.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, on the fuller side on off-stump, Nair punches it from the crease towards short cover

20.6

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, good length delivery just outside off, Gautam comes forward a touch and blocks it into the off-side showing the full face of the bat

20.5

U Yadav to Gautam, 2 runs, full on the pads, clipped to backward square leg and they manage to scamper through for a couple

20.4

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off, pacy, and left alone by Gautam

20.3

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off, Gautam is squared up and fails to keep it down as he is stuck on a half-cocked stance and the edge falls short of Ramaswamy at 2nd slip

20.2

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off and some really good carry as the batsman shoulders arms. The keeper collected it almost hear his head

20.1

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off, Gautam shoulders arms

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length delivery, a little fuller in fact and Nair comes forward and pushes it straight to mid-off

19.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, a bit of extra bounce, guides to gully and they try an impossible single. Nair is sent back and the man at gully is swift and almost gets the throw on target

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length just outside off, Nair gets on top of it and guides it towards the cordon, and the man at gully dives to his left to save four for his team

19.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length delivery outside off, in the channel but no lateral movement, Nair comes forward and pushes it to cover. They think about the single and rightly decide against it

18.6

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, back of a length delivery, Nair opens the face of the bat and guides it with a vertical bat behind square on the off-side for a single

18.5

U Yadav to Nair, no run, short-ish outside off, Nair stands his ground and plays it with a horizontal bat to straight to backward point. Tried to thread the gap, but was unsuccessful

18.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, not much lateral movement off the pitch or in the air, left alone by Nair

18.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, swinging away in the early part of the flight and then seaming in after pitching. Unplayable as Nair is beaten on his back foot defence

18.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, short ball outside off, good carry through to the keeper but too wide to cause any trouble. Wasted effort ball. The batsman shoulder arms

18.1

U Yadav to Gautam, 1 run, back of a length outside off, not much bounce and Gautam guides it square of the wicket with an angled vertical bat for a single

17.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full ball on middle, Nair had come too far across towards off, which has been an issue in his technique and he is late on the glance. He manages to get it to short mid-wicket off the inside half of the bat

17.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away again, and Nair has no problems shouldering arms as it is too wide outside off

17.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, yorker length wide outside off, Gautam crouches down and squeezes it out with a horizontal bat to backward point for a single. Extremely well played

The ball has been deemed unfit for play, probably because the seam has been hitting the pitch so often. The reserve umpire runs onto the field with the box of old balls for a replacement. The ball has been replaced and the bowlers will continue with this new one.

17.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, delivery on the pads, clipped in front of square, and the fielder runs in and fires in a throw at the striker's end. He misses, as the batsmen manage to scamper through for a single

17.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, FOUR, good length delivery outside off, seaming away a touch, and thick edge goes through the 2nd slip and gully to third man for four. Defended with soft hands and consequently it didn't carry on the full to the slip cordon

17.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in and a whisker away from off-stump. A little high, that's all. A brave leave by Nair. I don't think he anticipated such sharp movement off the seam

16.6

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length wide outside off, Gautam ignores it and lets it go through to the keeper

16.5

U Yadav to Gautam, FOUR, back of a length outside off , Gautam was square up but he played it off the backfoot with a loose bottom hand and it died on the way towards the slip cordon and through the cordon for four towards third man

16.4

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in a touch, and it is left alone by Gautam

16.3

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, back of a length ball outside off, Nair comes forward and pushes it towards cover for one

16.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length delivery outside off, Nair stands his ground, as it gets to him abour chest high and waves his bat as it to leave it but I'm sure it was a deliberate waft towards backward point

16.1

U Yadav to Gautam, 1 run, full delivery on the pads, clipped away to fine leg for a single

Umesh Yadav [7.0-1-22-1] is back into the attack

15.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, and just outside off, Nair hops and gets on top of it to guide it with a vertical bat to the man at point

15.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, ouch! Back of a length delivery outside off, Nair comes across towards off stump too early, and the ball seams in abruptly and hits him on the box as he is hurried. No appeal, but certainly some alarming seam movement

15.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, back of a length and on the thigh guard, tucked away to fine leg for a comfortable single

15.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, back of a length on middle, the batsman hangs back and dabs it towards mid-on as they scamper across for a single. It is Umesh at mid-on, and believe me, they'd rather not take on his arm

15.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full ball on the pads, Nair clips it away with good timing but straight to the man at square leg. Got the timing perfect, but the placement wrong

15.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, somewhere between short and back of a length, the batsman gets back in the crease, stands tall and defends it right into the pitch. Leaves his bottom hand in the process to keep the ball down

Rajneesh Gurbani [6.0-1-9-2] is back into the attack

14.6

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, FOUR, full and wide outside off, Gautam shuffles across towards off stump and opens the face of the bat to guide it in front of backward point for four. That raced away off the bat and a wayward first over from Neral comes to an end. 8 off it

14.5

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, on a good length but too wide outside off, Gautam leaves it alone comfortably

14.4

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, FOUR, full and swinging in, but too wide. The batsman leans forward and slices it wristily to the deep backward point fence for four

14.3

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, back of a length on a sixth stump line, and it seams in. The batsman shoulders arms as it goes through

14.2

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, good length ball but wide outside off, stays low and goes through to the keeper after several bounces

14.1

Siddesh Neral to Gautam, no run, back of a length just outside off, the batsman has no qualms about letting that go through to the keeper

Siddesh Neral will start proceedings.

8:45AM local timeGood morning and welcome to the 2nd day of this semi-final clash between two heavyweights in this Ranji trophy competition. We saw just 221 runs scored yesterday for 13 wickets as this Eden track conjured some devils for the batsmen. The bowlers got the ball to seam around sharply. Mithun continued to be in imperious form, Vinay was tight and bowled some peaches yesterday with the new ball and bundled out Vidarbha for 185. Vidarbha replied with some vicious bowling led by Indian spearhead Umesh Yadav and Rajneesh Gurbani who rattled the in-form Karnataka top-order. It will be intriguing to see if the Karnataka batsmen can showcase some grit to stage a fightback today. This promises to be an enthralling day of cricket. Join us for live action at 9AM local time.

****************

Uh-oh! The light has been fading for sometime and the umpires think it's not feasible to continue. Bad light stops play and I reckon that would be it for the day. Yes, stumps on Day 1. As we've seen it in the past, it usually gets dark quite early in this part of the country. Anyway, coming to cricket. It was a fantastic day as the pendulum has oscillated back into the state of equilibrium. Having bundled out Vidarbha for 185 - with Mithun breathing fire after lunch claiming a fifer - Karnataka have lost three wickets in reply for 36 and oh boy! Vidarbha bowlers have injected life into this contest. Thanks to the seaming and sporting track of Eden. Should be a fascinating Day 2, join us back for all the fun. Let me remind you that it will be a 9:00 am start. So, cya and ta-ta for now.

13.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, angling at the stumps, defended from the crease

13.5

U Yadav to Nair, no run, pitched up and curving away a tad, Nair eases it to cover

13.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, short of length and shaping away outside off, Nair directs it to gully with an open bat face

13.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, on a back of a length close to off, Nair hangs in his crease to negotiate it

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, full on middle and off, Nair drives but doesn't get the timing right as the bat rotates in his hands. The bowler picks up and tries to run the non-striker out very slyly. Doesn't manage to hit the stumps in the end

11.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length on middle, Nair leans forward and pushes it to mid-on

11.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length in the channel outside off, Nair stays in the crease and blocks it late off the back foot

11.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, good length delivery outside off, seaming in and Nair lets it go through to the keeper

11.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, another back of a length ball with a wider-than-ideal line, left alone by Nair

11.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in and he gets some good carry through to the keeper as the batsman doesn't bother to play at it

10.6

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length on off, Gautam pokes tentatively but with soft hands, and the thick outside edge dies down as it trundles towards the slip cordon

10.5

U Yadav to Nair, 1 run, back of a length outside off, punched under the eyes to long off for a single, because of a misfield by the man at mid-off who was lethargic

10.4

U Yadav to Nair, no run, full outside off, and Nair plays a transfer-of-weight shot. Leans into the drive and gets it straight to the man at cover point

10.3

U Yadav to Nair, no run, lots of outswing and seam movement away as well, but too wide outside off to trouble Nair, who comes forward and shoulders arms

10.2

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length wide outside off, coming in with the angle and straightening off the seam. Nair shoulders arms

10.1

U Yadav to Nair, FOUR, back of a length on the pads, skids on and stays low, and Nair is good enough to clip is off his pads in front of square on the leg side for four

9.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, back of a length in the channel outside off, Gautam shuffles across and leaves the ball. Good leave, that

9.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, good length just outside off, Gautam drives at it without any feet, the ball straightens and takes a thick leading edge, but falls short of backward point

9.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, back of a length delivery but too wide outside off to cause any trouble. It has been left alone by Gautam

9.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nair, 1 run, good length delivery on off and middle, clipped to short mid wicket, a shy at the stumps again as they scamper across for a single. He misses this time

9.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, Direct hit! It was a good length delivery on middle, clipped to short mid wicket, and the man picked it up quickly to score a direct hit at the non-striker's end. Replays show that the batsman was safely in. But Vidarbha are piling on the pressure here

Direct hit!

9.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, full out-swinger wide outside off, Gautam gets on his knees and going for an expansive cover drive, and it beats the bat. A result of the piling pressure over the last few tight overs

8.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length on a 5th stump line, seaming in, and Nair leaves it confidently

8.5

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length slightly outside off, left alone

8.4

U Yadav to Gautam, 1 run, short ball on leg-stump, Gautam swivel-pulls it to fine leg for a single

8.3

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away again, Gautam think about playing at it, but plays inside the line after he realises that it would get too big on him

8.2

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length on off, Gautam goes deep in his crease and shuffles across towards off stump to dead-bat it off the back foot

8.1

U Yadav to Gautam, no run, back of a length on a 5th stump line, seaming away, and Gautam shoulders arms. Good shape away after bouncing suggesting that the seam position stabilized into that of an out-swinger after bouncing

7.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, 1 run, full delivery on the pads, clipped away to deep backward square leg for a comfortable single

7.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Gautam, no run, same delivery as the wicket ball, but he got forward and waited, it seamed in and made the late adjustment to block it right under his eyes

CM Gautam, right handed bat, comes to the crease

7.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, out Bowled!! Oh dear, Indian batsmen and their woes against the seaming ball continues. It happened in the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Eden, and the same story continues today. Good length delivery outside off, seaming in sharply (must have landed in the 7'o'clock position) and crashing into the furniture. Nischal was trying a true wicket shot: a cover drive away from the body whilst trusting the bounce. You cannot do that unless you trust the bounce. And evidently, he really shouldn't be trusting the bounce of this pitch, with all the sharp seam movement. The batsmen are hopping around, and it seems to be a bowler's day in the sun. Nischal b Rajneesh Gurbani 0(6)

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, THAT'S OUT!! Bowled!!

7.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, good length outside off, Nischal comes forward, gets a good stride in and defends

7.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, back of a length ball angling in, straightening from a 4th stump line off the pitch and Nischal tries to play off the back foot. Beaten

7.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, back of a length outside off, Nischal stands tall and guides it with an angled vertical bat to the man at point inside the circle

6.6

U Yadav to Nair, no run, back of a length outside off, Nair shoulders arms

Karun Nair, right handed bat, comes to the crease

6.5

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, out Lbw!! Scrambled seam ball just a fraction outside off, and jagging in, Mayank Agarwal isn't fully forward and as I had said, the batsmen have to get forward, otherwise they can't pick the movement off the pitch and react fast enough everytime. Almost unplayable delivery at Umesh's pace, and the in form Agarwal has to depart. Karnataka in a spot of bother now. Mayank Agarwal lbw b U Yadav 15(19) [4s-3]

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

6.4

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, no run, short ball but too wide of leg-stump. Wayward bowling again by Umesh. Mayank Agarwal simply ducks under it, even though he doesn't really need to

6.3

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, no run, back of a length on middle, Mayank Agarwal defends from the crease and gets an inside edge onto his pads. It lobs up for a brief moment, but there were no close-in fielders

6.2

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, FOUR, back of a length delivery wide of off, Mayank Agarwal guides it to the third man fence for four. He has threaded the gap and placed that to perfection

6.1

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, no run, back of a length outside off, Mayank Agarwal stylishly shoulders arms. Very exaggerated leave. Not quite Steve Smith, but still quite peculiar

5.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, half-volley outside off, Nischal leans into the off-drive and the bowler collects it on the follow-through. Mocks a throw at the batsman, but thankfully doesn't go through with it

5.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Nischal, no run, back of a length on off and middle, Nischal defends it off a half-cocked stance right into the pitch. PLayed it late and right under his eyes, but he might not be able to react quick enough to the ones moving more significantly off the seam

Dega Nischal, right handed bat, comes to the crease

5.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, out Caught by Akshay Wadkar! Back of a length just a fraction outside off, and Samarth was caught poking outside off, got a feather on it and it was gobbled up by the glovesman. Gurbani rewarded for a testing spell to the batsmen. He has been very consistent with his lengths, and he's beaten the edge several times. Samarth R c Akshay Wadkar b Rajneesh Gurbani 6(20) [4s-1]

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

5.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, good length on off, Samarth R comes forward and defends, but the arc of the bat was going towards the on-side and he got a thick outside edge to cover point

5.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, better line, coming into the righty with the angle and seaming away, Samarth R gets back in his crease and fends at it with soft hands and it goes to 2nd slip on the bounce off the outside edge

5.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, 1 run, short and wide outside off, steered away to third man with a horizontal bat and cemented feet for a single

4.6

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, what a delivery! He's gotten into his groove after two overs of waywardness. Good length ball on off-stump, seaming away sharply. No way even the Flash could have reacted fast enough to get behind the line of it, so abrupt was the movement

4.5

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, back of a length on off, Samarth goes back in the crease and defends off the back foot

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, beaten! What a jaffa! Back of a length ball on off, Samarth R shuffles across outside off and tries to defend off the back foot, but plays inside the line at the last moment as the ball nips away off the seam

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in a touch and Mayank Agarwal plays from the crease, gets an inside edge into the thigh guard. Very smart bowling this, following up an out-swinger with an skiddy off-cutter

3.4

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, no run, excellent out-swinger, Mayank Agarwal gets drawn into a cover drive and seems to get an edge. Big appeal, but turned down! Turns out the noise was just bat hitting the ground

3.3

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, no run, good length delivery on middle, clipped to short mid-wicket

3.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, no run, back of a length on off, Mayank Agarwal stays in the crease and lets it come on to him, blocks it under his eyes to guide it to the man at point

3.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, no run, good length outside off, jagging in very sharply and missing the off-stump by a whisker as Mayank Agarwal shoulders arms confidently

2.6

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, 1 run, good length just outside off, Agarwal gets slightly forward and guides it with an open face to deep backward point for a comfortable single. Yadav has been wayward, and needs to get himself together while the ball is still new

2.5

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, no run, better line, but still not enough to trouble the batsman. The ball seams away from a length and it is left alone by Mayank Agarwal again

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, no run, back of a length outside off, jags away off the seam abruptly and Mayank Agarwal shoulders arms

2.2

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, no run, good length delivery outside off, Mayank Agarwal opens the face of the bat and steers it with a vertical bat to gully where gully dives to save a certain boundary

2.1

U Yadav to Mayank Agarwal, FOUR, good length outside off , Mayank Agarwal comes forward and just check-drives it to the deep extra cover fence with exquisite timing for four. That raced away so fast, even the camera seems to have lost it

1.6

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, back of a length outside off, Samarth gets on his toes to defend it off the back foot into the off-side. Mid-off picks up

1.5

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, good length on off, Samarth R comes forward and across to punch it back to the bowler. A hint of seam movement in as the replays show, but the forward movement to negate the movement has helped him cut out the angle

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, oh dear! Is there the Eden or the WACA?! Cracker of a delivery on a back of a length on off, jagging away and beating the back foot defensive. Zoomed past his edge. Unplayable.

1.2

Rajneesh Gurbani to Samarth R, no run, wide outside off again, the ball seams sharply away off a length, but Samarth has no issues leaving that because the line is too wide

1.1

Rajneesh Gurbani to Mayank Agarwal, 1 run, good length outside off, Mayank Agarwal comes forward and guides it with an angled vertical bat square of the wicket for a single. The sweeper picks up

Rajneesh Gurbani, right-arm medium, comes into the attack

0.6

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, some good shape for Umesh away from the right-hander, but the line is too wide to cause any trouble. Samarth shoulders arms

0.5

U Yadav to Samarth R, FOUR, good length delivery on middle and leg, clipped to deep mid-wicket off the feet for four. Easy boundary to start with

0.4

U Yadav to Samarth R, 2 runs, good length outside off, Samarth R leans forward and just pushes it. But he has timed the pants off that as it runs away towards the extra cover fence. The man at short cover chases it and pulls it back inside the rope

0.3

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, good length delivery on middle, clipped away to short mid-wicket

0.2

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, yorker length! Wow. Right at the base of off-stump, and Samarth does well to dig it out

0.1

U Yadav to Samarth R, no run, back of a length but down leg side. Wayward start from India's premier spearhead

Samarth R and Mayank Agarwal are at the crease. Samarth R is on strike. U Yadav will open the attack

The accomplished and in-form Karnataka openers out at the center.

Tea, day 1: What a session for Karnataka. Smiles and hi-fives in the camp. Mithun leads the way, fittingly. The Peenya express as they call him - literally owned this session, picking up a fifer. He triggered a collapse and just wrecked havoc. Vidarbha batsmen couldn't kick-on post lunch and Sarwate's 47 has given some sort of respectability to the total. Still lots of time left in this game and Karnataka will look to pile on the misery. Be back in 15 minutes for the final session..

61.4

Shreyas Gopal to Sarwate, out Caught by Gowtham!! All over for Vidarbha. Sarwate's cameo comes to an end. Tossed up just outside off, Sarwate tried to emulate the inside-out loft he did earlier in the over. However, couldn't time it well and hits it straight to extra cover. Gowtham makes no mistake and holds onto it. With that, they take Tea. Sarwate c Gowtham b Shreyas Gopal 47(64) [4s-7]

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, short of length on off, defended from the crease

60.3

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, appeal for a caught-behind, but it's been turned down. The inswinger, cuts Sarwate in half and sneaks through the bat-pad gap. Not sure if there was any bat there

60.2

Mithun to Sarwate, 2 runs, banged in short, gets big on Sarwate. He mistimes the pull wide of long-on, adds a couple of runs to the tally

60.1

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, dug in short, too wide of off. Sarwate stays away from the line

59.6

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, mild appeal, but it's too high. Binny goes wide of the crease and slants it in, hits the flap of the pad as Neral is struck in his crease. Too high IMO

59.5

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, short of length and jagging around outside off, Neral lifts his bat and lets it go

59.4

Binny to Sarwate, 1 run, strides forward and eases it to deep backward point

59.3

Binny to Sarwate, no run, fullish lines outside off, left alone

59.2

Binny to Sarwate, no run, fullish outside off, Sarwate cracks the drive through point

59.1

Binny to Sarwate, FOUR, Sarwate will look to accelerate now. A cross-bat swat to a full ball past the non-striker

58.6

Mithun to Siddesh Neral, no run, huge cry for LBW but umpire Pashchim Pathak shakes his head. Tailed in very late, Neral was shuffling across and misses it. Is rapped high on the pad, looked like going down leg

58.5

Mithun to Siddesh Neral, no run, nice.. shortens his length and gets it to veer away just outside off. Neral goes stalking, not too far from the outside edge

58.4

Mithun to Sarwate, 1 run, good length delivery on off, Sarwate waits and waits to dab it to third man. Takes the single

58.3

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, decking in from a length and tucks Sarwate for room. He stays behind the line and defends it down the pitch

58.2

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, banged in short, good wheels behind it. Sarwate sways away from the line

58.1

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, darting in from a length, Sarwate flexes his muscles and attempts a wild heave, slices only thin air

57.6

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, full on middle, shaped in late. Neral presses forward to defend - drags it off the inner half to square leg

57.5

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, on a length just outside off, Neral defends it from the crease

57.4

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, lovely. Full and outside off, seams away after pitching. Neral goes chasing and is beaten all ends up

57.3

Binny to Siddesh Neral, no run, straighter lines, on the stumps. Neral defends it off the back foot

57.2

Binny to Sarwate, 1 run, punches it to cover, takes the strike on this occasion

57.1

Binny to Sarwate, no run, short outside off, Sarwate slashes it to deep point, declines the single

56.6

Mithun to U Yadav, out Caught by (sub)Kaunain Abbas!! Three wickets in four balls. He couldn't grab a hat-trick, but Mithun won't mind that. He's on a roll. Fifer for Mithun. Full and just outside off, Umesh gets forward and outside-edges it straight into the hands of Abbas - the sub - at first slip. U Yadav c (sub)Kaunain Abbas b Mithun 0(2)

Mithun to U Yadav, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

56.5

Mithun to U Yadav, no run, ohhhh! Nearly.. pitched up just outside off, moves away as Umesh pokes at it. Misses the outside edge by a whisker

Umesh Yadav, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Vinay Kumar picked a hat-trick in the last game. Can Mithun emulate him? In walks, Umesh Yadav

56.4

Mithun to Rajneesh Gurbani, out Bowled!! Two in two for Mithun. He is on a hat-trick! Vidarbha are falling apart now. Gurbani bags a golden duck. Typical tail-enders dismissal. Full and on off, zooming in rapidly off the deck. Gurbani plays for the original line, the ball straightens just a touch and knocks the off-stump. Mithun leaps in delight. Rajneesh Gurbani b Mithun 0(1)

Mithun to Rajneesh Gurbani, THAT'S OUT!! Bowled!!

Rajneesh Gurbani, right handed bat, comes to the crease

56.3

Mithun to Wakhare, out Caught by Gautam!! Wakhare's resistance is over. Needless, with no feet and intent, gropes at a short of length delivery that was well outside off. Gets a faint nick and CMG accepts it gleefully. Wakhare c Gautam b Mithun 18(44) [4s-2]

Mithun to Wakhare, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

56.2

Mithun to Sarwate, 1 run, good length ball just outside off, Sarwate uses the depth of the crease to good effect. Smears it to deep point

56.1

Mithun to Sarwate, no run, shortish and nipping in, Sarwate waits and waits before chopping it to the cordon

55.6

Binny to Wakhare, 2 runs, steers it with an open blade, oh! In fact off the outer half behind point. Two added to the tally

55.5

Binny to Wakhare, no run, huge, huge appeal for LBW but it's heading down leg. Full and curling in, Wakhare misses the defence and is hit low on the pad

55.4

Binny to Wakhare, no run, beaten for the nth time. This one gains extra bounce and rears up at Wakhare. He has a feel and fortunately, for him it misses the outside edge

55.3

Binny to Sarwate, 1 run, short outside off, Sarwate goes deep and flays it through point

55.2

Binny to Sarwate, no run, on a length just outside off, Sarwate swishes and misses

55.1

Binny to Sarwate, FOUR, short and dismissed. Sarwate quickly gets into position and pulls it over mid-wicket

Stuart Binny [12.0-3-35-1] is back into the attack

54.6

Mithun to Wakhare, no run, spearing on middle and leg, defended

54.5

Mithun to Wakhare, no run, cuts Wakhare in half with this indipper. Excellent stop from CMG, he's been too good today except for that rare blip off Gowtham's bowling. This one swerves in from a length, opens up Wakhare and goes over the stumps. CMG dives with his outstretched left-glove and intercepts it

54.4

Mithun to Wakhare, FOUR, handy runs for Vidarbha. This one takes the outside edge, soft hands though. Runs through the cordon

54.3

Mithun to Wakhare, no run, cramping Wakhare for room with a short of length on leg. Wakhare with a closed bat face turns it to square leg

54.2

Mithun to Wakhare, no run, angling on middle and leg, knocked to square leg

54.1

Mithun to Sarwate, 3 runs, sliding on leg, Sarwate tucks it behind square on the leg-side and gets three

Abhimanyu Mithun [12.0-6-33-2] is back into the attack

53.6

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, bounces a litter after pitching, Wakhare is up for the task - standing tall and quells it

53.5

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, shorter in length, turned to FSL

53.4

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, more air on this occasion, Wakhare props forward in defence

53.3

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, touch quicker outside off, Wakhare goes for the cut and misses

53.2

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, gives more air, Wakhare kills all the turn on offer with a back-foot defence

Binny to Wakhare, 2 runs, on the pads, whisked behind square for a brace

52.4

Binny to Wakhare, no run, backs away a bit and works it to mid-wicket

52.3

Binny to Wakhare, no run, opens the bat face to a full ball and guides it to point

52.2

Binny to Wakhare, no run, stands tall and pushes it to mid-on

52.1

Binny to Wakhare, no run, decking in around off, blocked from the crease

51.6

Gowtham to Sarwate, no run, tossed up on middle, tucked to short fine leg

51.5

Gowtham to Wakhare, 1 run, pokes it off the outer half behind point

51.4

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, steps out, isn't to the pitch. Has his bat next to pad, the ball bounces a bit and scraps the glove before evading the FSL fielder

51.3

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run

51.2

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, turned with the spin to FSL

51.1

Gowtham to Wakhare, FOUR, edged and grazes the fingertips of CMG before rolling away to the fence. Angled in with the arm, Wakhare comes forward to defend - the ball takes the outside edge, brushes CMG's gloves and flies between Karun and the keeper to the fence. Karun hardly had any time to react there

Binny to Sarwate, FOUR, cracking on-drive from Sarwate! Half-volley on the stumps, Sarwate shifts his weight forward, presents a straight bat and drives it past mid-on

50.1

Binny to Sarwate, no run, short of length, curving in. Defended

Stuart Binny [10.0-3-29-1] is back into the attack

49.6

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, flatter outside off, pushed to cover

49.5

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, forward and neatly shows his straight bat

49.4

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, defended

49.3

Gowtham to Wakhare, no run, flutter of excitement but it's aborted quickly. The quicker ball from Gowtham, just outside off. Wakhare was playing for the turn and is beaten all ends up. Missed the edge by a whisker

49.2

Gowtham to Sarwate, 1 run, overpitched a tad, Sarwate slices the drive through point

49.1

Gowtham to Sarwate, no run, is right on cue first ball, tossed up on off. Sarwate is hesitant to come forward, defends it from the crease

Krishnappa Gowtham, right-arm off break, comes into the attack

Spin for the first time today. After 49 overs, it's K Gowtham - the leading wicket-taker for Karnataka this season into the attack with a slip and FSL.

48.6

Aravind to Wakhare, no run, loud appeal for LBW but it's clearly pitched outside leg. Fuller and decked back in to slam Wakhare on the pad

48.5

Aravind to Wakhare, no run, leaves this back of a length delivery all alone

48.4

Aravind to Wakhare, no run, unplayable! In the channel, just a hint of tail away and sniffs past the outside edge

48.3

Aravind to Wakhare, 2 runs, short outside off, Wakhare reaches out and punches it through cover for a couple of runs

48.2

Aravind to Wakhare, no run, full and very wide of off, Wakhare is happy to shoulder arms

48.1

Aravind to Wakhare, no run, goodish length just outside off, defended

47.6

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, no run, "No" shouts Sarwate as soon as he taps a length ball to cover

47.5

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, no run, some semblance of reverse for Vinay, just outside off. Sarwate doesn't fiddle with that

47.4

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, 3 runs, pick-up shot, Wakhare twirls his wrists and whips it over mid-wicket. Suchit, the sub gives chase and saves a run for his team

47.3

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, no run, on the stumps, blocked

47.2

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, no run, again straightening a wee bit after pitching. Wakhare without much conviction jabs and squirts it off the outer half to cover

Aravind to Sarwate, 1 run, dropped in front of cover for a quick single

46.5

Aravind to Sarwate, FOUR, after a plethora of plays and misses, Sarwate finds one off the middle, carves it behind point

46.4

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, another jem from Aravind. Sarwate has no clue; shortened his length and gets it to straighten off the deck, Sarwate pokes and misses

46.3

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, on the hips, turned to square leg

46.2

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, jaffa. Full and just outside off, shapes away after pitching. Sarwate was hanging his bat forward - all frozen and should thank his stars that he didn't nick that

46.1

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, full and curving in, Sarwate takes a stride forward and defends it with a straight bat

45.6

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, no run, leading edge, drops short of cover. Wakhare closes the bat face early, gets the edge and it dies in front of cover

45.5

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, no run, ripper. Pitched up on off, seamed away viciously. Nothing could Wakhare do about it. Just held his bat inside the line and the ball whooshes past the outside edge

45.4

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, no run, short of a good length just outside off, Wakhare waits in his crease before stonewalling it into the off-side

45.3

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, no run, half-hearted appeal for LBW but it was going down leg. Inswinger, jagged back in and pinged Wakhare on the pad. Height was also a concern

45.2

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, no run, short of length and outside off, left alone

45.1

Vinay Kumar to Wakhare, no run, on a length just outside off, Wakhare pokes and misses

44.6

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, pitched up just outside off, Sarwate shoulders arms

44.5

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, lasers it in the corridor just outside off, Sarwate watches it all along and leaves

Aravind moves to round the wicket.

44.4

Aravind to Sarwate, 2 runs, moves inside the line and works it through mid-wicket for a brace. Off the inner half there

44.3

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, tucked to mid-wicket

44.2

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, full and weaving across the right-hander outside off, left alone

44.1

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, harpooing away well outside off, Sarwate is not interested

Akshay Wakhare, right handed bat, comes to the crease

43.6

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, out Caught by Gautam!! Back of a length ball in the channel, Akshay Wadkar checks a cover drive on the up and gets a feather through to the keeper. Vinay is confident and is begging the umpire. He is almost adjacent to the batsman and about to cover his face in anguish when the umpire raises that fateful finger. Oh so much drama out in the center! Akshay Wadkar c Gautam b Vinay Kumar 12(26) [4s-2]

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

43.5

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length on off, Akshay Wadkar shifts his weight on the back foot and pushes it back to the bowler. Played right under his eyes

43.4

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, short-ish ball, Akshay Wadkar comes down the track again, comes across his stumps and then stands tall to punch it to the man at short cover

43.3

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, 1 run, short-ish delivery, just outside off, and Sarwate gets on his toes and steers it with a vertical bat to third man for a single

43.2

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, no run, outswinger on the 6th stump line, and it jags back in slightly off the seam after bouncing. Sarwate leaves it alone

43.1

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, FOUR, back of a length and wide outside off, Sarwate gets on the back foot and times the pants off that back-foot punch to the sweeper cover fence for four

42.6

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, just the usual: back of a length delivery slightly outside off, left alone

42.5

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length on off, Akshay Wadkar shuffles across yet again, but tries to get too cute with that glance. Thankfully for him, Akshay Wadkar gets a thick leading edge towards short cover, all along the ground

42.4

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length across the right-hander, Akshay Wadkar shuffles across to off-stump and shoulders arms

42.3

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, FOUR, oh the elegance! A purist's delight that shot! Full ball outside off, and Akshay Wadkar leans into the drive to deep extra cover for four. just a transfer of weight and all the timing in the world

42.2

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, full and wide outside off, Akshay Wadkar leans into a horizontal-batted drive, gets on his knees and gudies it to cover point

42.1

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length on middle, Akshay Wadkar whips it to mid-on with an exaggerated follow-through. Almost Dhoni-like

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, no run, back of a length on middle and leg, Sarwate gets back in the crease and defends it perfectly tpo mid-on. Picture perfect was that back foot shot. Elbows pointing up and everything

41.4

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, back of a length delivery seaming into the batsman, tucked off the hips to fine leg for an easy single

41.3

Vinay Kumar to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length delivery in the channel outside off, seaming in, and raps him on the pad outside the line of off. Confident shout by Vinay, but the umpire turns it down.

41.2

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, 1 run, full outside off, Sarwate comes forward and across to off-stump and pushes it to cover point for a quick single

41.1

Vinay Kumar to Sarwate, no run, half-tracker wide outside off, Sarwate nails the timing on that cut, but finds the man at point perfectly. Missed opportunity

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, 2 runs, full ball on middle and off, and Akshay Wadkar shuffled across to clip is away to deep mid wicket for a couple. Good shot, that. His head was above the ball when he made contact

40.4

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length outside off, Wadkar shuffles across outside off, and defends it to mid-off

40.3

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, FOUR, short ball, not much pace behind it, and Akshay Wadkar nails that twist-pull to the backward square leg boundary for four

40.2

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length outside off and across the left-hander, Wadkar shoulders arms

40.1

Aravind to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length on off, Akshay Wadkar gets back in the crease, stands tall, and punches it to short cover

39.6

Binny to Sarwate, no run, full ball outside off, Sarwate comes forward and plays and expansive slices towards cover. Very dangerous shot when the ball is nipping around. These are shots you can play with you trust the bounce. A true wicket shot.

39.5

Binny to Sarwate, no run, good length delivery on off, Sarwate comes forward and dead-bats it back to the bowler

39.4

Binny to Sarwate, FOUR, full delivery on the pads, Sarwate whips it aerially off the pads to the deep square leg fence for four

39.3

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, 1 run, short and into the body, Akshay Wadkar is a little late on the pull as he gets it away to fine leg for a comfortable single

39.2

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length outside off again, shuffles across towards off and defended with an angled bat to the man at point

39.1

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length on the 4th stump channel, Akshay Wadkar defends this into off side off a half-cocked stance. Defended under his eyes, and he is advancing forward to negotitate the movement every ball

38.6

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, back of a length on middle, tucked into the on-side off his pads after he shuffled across towards off-stump

38.5

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, back of a length on middle, not much lateral movement, and bowled from closer to the stumps, Sarwate gets back and defends it into the on-side

38.4

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, good length delivery on off, seaming away sharply from the right-hander. Sarwate isn't bothered by it and leaves it alone

38.3

Aravind to Sarwate, no run, back of a length outside off, good bounce of that length and good carry through to Gautam behind the stumps. Sarwate is comfortable shouldering arms

Aditya Sarwate, right handed bat, comes to the crease

38.2

Aravind to Jaffer, out Caught by Samarth R!! Back of a length ball leaving the batsman, manages to move it away off the seam. Jaffer gets drawn into the stroke as he is drawn into a false shot, ends up guiding it to Samarth at 2nd slip. Vidarbha have lost two of their batting heavyweights, Jaffer and Fazal. Jaffer c Samarth R b Aravind 39(85) [4s-8]

Aravind to Jaffer, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

38.1

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, Aravind comes from round the wicket, going across the right-hander, and seam and swing away from the righty. Jaffer is comfortable in leaving that alone

Sreenath Aravind [6.0-2-23-0] is back into the attack

37.6

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length outside off, no sideways movement, and left alone by Akshay

37.5

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length outside off, wide enough to let the batsman shoulder arms comfortably. A hint of seam movement away

37.4

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length outside off, Akshay Wadkar shuffles across and comes forward to negotiate the lateral movement, pushes it off the meat into the off-side

37.3

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length outside off, coming in with the angle, and Akshay Wadkar gets back, stands tall and drops the ball into the pitch. A loose bottom hand, used in that case to keep the ball down

37.2

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, no run, good length delivery outside off, Akshay Wadkar gets a good stride in and pushes it to the man at short cover

37.1

Binny to Akshay Wadkar, no run, back of a length on off, defended off the back foot into the on-side

36.6

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, full and wide outside off, Jaffer comes forward and leans into a princely transfer-of-weight cover drive. Unfortunately, he finds the man inside the circle

36.5

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, Jaffer shuffles across, goes deep in the crease and defends into the off side. Made contact with the ball right under his eyes

36.4

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, Jaffer watchfully leaves it alone

36.3

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, back of a length delivery seaming in a tad, and Jaffer comes forward to defend. The bat twists in his hands and he plays it onto his boots and it trundles down the wicket towards the bowler

36.2

Mithun to Jaffer, FOUR, short ball bowled into the body, Jaffer with his lazy elegance has all the time in the world to rock back and effortlessly time that pull in front of the deep square leg fence for four

36.1

Mithun to Jaffer, FOUR, back of a length on the pads, clipped away towards the fine leg fence for four

35.6

Binny to Jaffer, leg byes, 1 run, good length on middle, Jaffer misses the flick and gets an outside edge towards the keeper. Falls just short, and Binny continues to appeal in vain for LBW

35.5

Binny to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, good shape away and some abrupt movement away too, and Jaffer shoulders arms

35.4

Binny to Jaffer, no run, full on the pads, clipped to wide mid-on

35.3

Binny to Jaffer, no run, good length outside off, left alone

35.2

Binny to Jaffer, no run, full ball on middle, Jaffer punches it under his eyes towards mid-off

35.1

Binny to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away sharply, but too wide to cause any trouble for Jaffer, who shoulders arms

Akshay Vinod Wadkar, right handed bat, comes to the crease

34.6

Mithun to Wankhade, out Bowled!! Excellent ball! On a back of a length very wide outside off, seaming back in sharply and hitting the top of off stump, and the purists must be very happy with this dismissal. The batsman tried to drive with a huge gap between bat and pad, and it goes through the gate and crashes into the stumps. Wankhade b Mithun 1(4)

Mithun to Wankhade, THAT'S OUT!! Bowled!!

34.5

Mithun to Wankhade, no run, short ball, not well-directed. Wankhade mocks a duck, as it sails over his head. The keeper collects it near his head

34.4

Mithun to Wankhade, no run, full and wide outside off, Wankhade comes forward and steers it with an angled vertical bat to the man at point inside the circle

34.3

Mithun to Jaffer, 1 run, short ball inot the ribcage, Jaffer hops and gloves it away to backward square leg for a single. Took his bottom hand off the bat to keep it down

34.2

Mithun to Wankhade, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Wankhade stays back and guides it to cover point for a quick single

Apoorv Wankhade, right handed bat, comes to the crease

34.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, out Caught by Gautam!! Drifting down leg on a back of a length, Ganesh Satish gets some bat on that glance, and the wicketkeeper deserves all the credit for this! Not a delivery that deserved a wicket, but this man's athletic ability pulls a rabbit out of the hat for Karnataka as he dives to his left to taking a stunning catch. Ganesh Satish c Gautam b Mithun 31(56) [4s-6]

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, THAT'S OUT!! Caught!!

33.6

Binny to Jaffer, no run, short and slightly wide outside off, Jaffer gets his back foot across to off and cuts it, finds the man at point

33.5

Binny to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away, Jaffer shuffles across to off-stump and shoulders arms

33.4

Binny to Jaffer, no run, drifting down leg, Jaffer misses the flick or does he? Loud appeal for caught behind, and the umpire shakes his head. Lots of drama in this over

33.3

Binny to Jaffer, no run, very loud appeal for LBW! Good length ball jagging in a tad, and Jaffer misses the forward defence as it raps him outside off. Not given

33.2

Binny to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, Jaffer shuffles across outside off, and dead-bats off the back foot

33.1

Binny to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, good length on the pads, clipped away behind square for a single. Gentle loosener from Binny

Stuart Binny [6.0-1-23-1] is back into the attack

32.6

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, full and wide outside off bowled from wide of the stumps. Jaffer isn't bothered by it, leaves it alone

32.5

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, back of a length on the pads, Jaffer misses the glance and it thuds off the pad and trundles into the leg-side

32.4

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, back of a length on off, Jaffer defends from the crease into the off-side

32.3

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, full ball outside off, Jaffer comes across towards off and clips it off the toe-end to the man at mid-on

32.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, full delivery on the pads, clipped away fine for a single

32.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, short delivery, very wide down leg side, and even the keeper diving at full stretch doesn't collect cleanly, but he saves four byes for his side

Lunch, Day 1: Off they head for a meal break. So, both teams should be happy as it's even-stevens at the end of first session in the 2nd Semi-Final between Karnataka and Vidarbha. Opting to bat after winning the toss, Vidarbha fell into the trap as the new ball bowlers for Karnataka generated prodigious movement. Davangere express - Vinay Kumar in particular was impressive like always. He removed Vidarbha's skipper Faiz Fazal early by trapping him in front. He could've had Sanjay too had Mayank Agarwal held onto the catch, but nonetheless, Binny was introduced just after the tenth over and he produced the breakthrough straightaway - Sanjay Ramaswamy was caught playing down the wrong line. Then the veteran Jaffer and Satish joined hands to soothe the nerves in the Vidarbha camp. They have held fort so far and will look to carry on post-lunch. Join us back in another 30 mins..

31.6

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, length ball just outside off, Jaffer gets forward and defends it to mid-off

31.5

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, nipped back in after pitching, Jaffer planted his front foot across and lifted his bat. Wasn't too far away from the off-pole

31.4

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, pitched up and moving away around fourth stump line. Left alone

31.3

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, full and miles outside off, Jaffer has nothing to do with it

31.2

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, beauty. Full and shapes away just outside off, Jaffer comes forward and pokes, beaten all ends up

31.1

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, back of a length on middle, Jaffer stands tall and defends

Should be the last over before lunch.

30.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, on a length outside off, Satish pokes it to gully

30.5

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, late inward shape, Satish clears his front leg and whips it to square leg

30.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, throwdown delivery and Satish takes toll. Full on the pads, Satish gets across and glances it very fine

30.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, quells all the heat off this length ball on off

30.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run

30.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, optimistic shout for LBW but umpire Pashchim Pathak says there was some bat on it. Mithun isn't too pleased, looked very close. In fact, replays show that it was closer than everyone thought. Nip-backer, seamed in and pings Satish on the pad as he misses the flick. There was daylight between bat and ball, not sure what umpire Pashchim Pathak saw there. Certainly, it would've crashed the middle stump

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, Mayank Agarwal claims a catch, Jaffer is waiting. The umpires aren't sure either as they converge to discuss. Takes the matter to the third umpire, nah! It's taken on the half-volley. The euphoria has been doused off rather quickly. Full and outside off, Jaffer went chasing and ekes out a outside edge that dies in front of third slip. Mayank was excited, so were his team-mates. But it was clear in the replays that it bounced just in front of him

27.5

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, pokes it with soft hands to backward point and settles for a single

27.4

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, 3 runs, short and width for the taking, Jaffer latches onto it. Stood tall and punches it through cover, Binny gives a long chase and pulls it back near the ropes

27.3

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, nice. Tad fuller just outside off, drags Jaffer forward and beats him on the outside edge

27.2

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, short of length outside off, Jaffer is happy to shoulder arms

27.1

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, woah. Still some movement off the air for Vinay. This was slightly full in the probing zone just outside off, snaked in late and Jaffer is not interested

26.6

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, tailing in towards off-pole, Satish is watchful as he defends it solidly from the crease

26.5

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, waits in his crease for the ball to arrive, drops it to point

26.4

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, keeps it full, Satish shows no intent and ignores

26.3

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, confident appeal for LBW, Mithun was screaming his lungs out. Umpire Pashchim Pathak calms him down by gesturing that the impact was outside off. Fuller and shaped back in around off, Satish stomped forward to defend, misses and is hit on the pad

26.2

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, doles out a full delivery outside off, Satish watches it all along and offers no shot

26.1

Mithun to Ganesh Satish, no run, jagged in late. Good leave by Satish, trusted the ball and raised his bat. A back of a length delivery, came back in and flew over the stumps

25.6

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, encouraging carry for Vinay. This was on a good length and it held its line. Jaffer combated that and left it alone

25.5

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, no run, Jaffer camps back and dabs it with an open bat to point

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, decides to leave this away-seamer that was well outside off

25.2

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, top stuff. This was full but the line was close to off. So Satish came forward to defend, the ball hits the deck and shapes away, beating his prodding willow

25.1

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, wow! Look at the seam movement. The ball is 25 overs old and Vinay is still making it talk. This was rifled full and it nips away further after pitching. Satish didn't bother to stalk or fiddle with it

24.6

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, goes full, but the line is outside off. Jaffer is ready with his hoisting bat to greet it

24.5

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, moves forward and presents a full face of the bat to drive it towards mid-off

24.4

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, late inward movement for Mithun after pitching, Jaffer plonks his front foot across, covers his stumps and leaves it alone

24.3

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, swerving in towards off-pole, Jaffer is nice and early behind the line. Displays a compact defence from the crease

24.2

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, teases him with another full ball wide of off, Jaffer raises his bat

24.1

Mithun to Jaffer, no run, hurls it full outside off, Jaffer leaves

Abhimanyu Mithun [5.0-3-18-0] is back into the attack

23.6

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run

23.5

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, shortens his length on off, defended

23.4

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, oh my word! Vinay Kumar is furious. Another drop in the slip cordon. You don't usually see that from Karnataka. Angled full around off, Satish jabbed at it with hard hands, chalks an outside edge that goes low to the right of Karun at first slip. He can't get down his hands in time, the ball hits his boot and runs away!

23.3

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, squares up Satish completely. Pitched on middle and shapes away just a tad after pitching, Satish was looking to play it to the leg-side, ekes out a soft leading edge that dies in front of gully

23.2

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run

23.1

Vinay Kumar to Ganesh Satish, no run, exaggerated movement for Vinay. Full and peckers away outside off, left alone

Vinay Kumar [6.0-2-11-1] is back into the attack

22.6

Binny to Jaffer, FOUR, three fours in the over, Karnataka are leaking runs now. Boundaries are flowing; Binny dishes out a half-volley outside off, Jaffer says thank you. Transfers his weight forward and creams the drive through extra cover

22.5

Binny to Jaffer, no run, stands tall with a high back-lift and punches it to mid-off

22.4

Binny to Jaffer, FOUR, back-to-back fours for Jaffer. This was in the air, just leaps over the fielder at mid-wicket. Short at the body, Jaffer hangs back and unleashes the pull, didn't middle it too well but evades the fielder which is more important

22.3

Binny to Jaffer, FOUR, oh! Risky. If he had missed it, he was a goner. Dead in-front. Fuller and nipped in sharply, Jaffer moves across his sticks - exposing all the three stumps and glances it fine

22.2

Binny to Jaffer, no run, gets inside the line and turns it to square leg

22.1

Binny to Jaffer, no run, shortish in length and moving away outside off, Jaffer hides his bat behind and offers a leave

21.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, stays right behind the line and defends it to mid-on

Aravind to Jaffer, leg byes, 1 run, strikes Jaffer on the pad with an in-dipper. Heading down leg and it rolls to square leg

21.3

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, 1 run, taps a back of a length in front of cover and scampers through for a single

21.2

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, delicately done. Sees the ball dropped on a short of length, inclines his bat at an angle and guides it in the vacant region between gully and second slip

21.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, Edged but it doesn't carry to Karun at first slip. Soft hands, easing Satish nerves. Plants his front foot forward and has a sniff at a full ball that moves away late - just outside off. Luckily for Satish, the outside edge goes on the half-volley to Karun

Interesting fact: How many know that Ganesh Satish was part of the Karnataka team that lifted the Ranji Trophy in the 2013/14 season? He even scored a ton in the final against Maharashtra. He moved to Vidarbha next year and has been their batting mainstays since then.

20.6

Binny to Jaffer, no run, full and well outside off, Jaffer raises his bat

20.5

Binny to Jaffer, no run, impeccable line from Binny. Pitched up, drew Jaffer forward and swerves it away at the last instant. So close to the outside edge

20.4

Binny to Jaffer, no run, Jaffer takes a couple of strides down the pitch and works it to square leg

20.3

Binny to Jaffer, no run, tests the batsman with a length ball that nips away outside off, Jaffer lifts his bat and lets it go

20.2

Binny to Jaffer, no run, there and thereabouts just outside off, Jaffer doesn't give a whiff about it

20.1

Binny to Jaffer, no run, fullish outside off, Jaffer comes forward and defends it to cover

19.6

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, leaves an away-curler by hoisting his bat

19.5

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, brilliant lines from Aravind. Hits the back of a length and gets it to hold its line just outside off. Satish stays glued to the crease, sans any feet attempts to flirt with it. Beaten!

19.4

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, good intent. Sees a full ball well outside off, doesn't fiddle at that

19.3

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, and again. Aravind is asking questions, to which Satish has no answers at the moment. He is not able to discern the movement, this was slanted in around off. Then curves just a little to sniff past the poking blade of Satish

19.2

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, beaten on this occasion. Aravind is making the ball talk now. On a good length and it straightens after pitching making life difficult for Satish. He gropes at it and the ball whistles past the outside edge

19.1

Aravind to Ganesh Satish, no run, Aravind tails one in from round the wicket, in the corridor of uncertainty. Satish pendulums his bat inside the line and lets it go

18.6

Binny to Jaffer, no run, half-volley outside off, Jaffer drives sweetly wide of mid-off, Vinay Kumar shows full committment diving to his left and making an excellent stop

Binny to Ganesh Satish, FOUR, rare loose ball from Binny and Satish accepts it with glee. Clears his front leg to a full ball on the pads and flicks it very fine to raise Vidarbha's fifty

18.3

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, superb nut from Binny. Brings this one back into the right-hander, in the region of botheration. Satish is tentative, whether to play or not. Decides to hold his bat inside the line and watch the ball buzz past the bat

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, pitched up and wooing Satish, he resists and shoulders arms

17.6

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, back of a length around off, defended off the back foot

17.5

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, short of length and leaps off a fraction, Jaffer is aware of the threat and ignites it with a straight-batted knock down the pitch

17.4

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, moves across and employs his bat to nudge it to mid-on

17.3

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, appeal for LBW aborted quickly. Was sliding down leg. Full and decked in, Jaffer was shuffling across, misses and was struck on the pad

17.2

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, similar lines, in the channel just outside off. Jaffer shows no intent and leaves

17.1

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, wafted on a length and holding its line outside off, well-left by Jaffer

Arvind is stopped while he was approaching to his crease by Jaffer, courtesy some distraction behind the bowler - guess the sightscreen issues

16.6

Binny to Ganesh Satish, no run, short of length and moving away outside off, he keeps his bat inside the line and lets it go

Ganesh Satish, right handed bat, comes to the crease

In walks, Ganesh Satish against his former team.

16.5

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, out Lbw!! Binny has his man. Doesn't bother to appeal, knew it straightaway that it was plumb. Ramaswamy was flirting with danger, was dropped by Mayank early in the innings and finally, runs out of luck. This is what Binny can do to this Karnataka set-up, known to break partnerships and has just done that. It was a full ball that jagged in off the deck, Ramaswamy was caught playing down the wrong line. Misses it totally and is hit low on the pad. In-line with the stumps and it would've crashed the middle stump. They checked the front-foot for a possible no-ball, but Binny was fine on that count. Vidarbha have lost both openers. Sanjay Ramaswamy lbw b Binny 22(44) [4s-3]

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

16.4

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, Binny goes a little wide of the crease and ushers in a short ball at the batsman. Ramaswamy spots it early and ducks under it

16.3

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, nice lines. Short of a good length and nipping in around the off-pole radar, no threat to the castle and Ramaswamy shoulders arms

16.2

Binny to Jaffer, 1 run, belated swing for Binny, after pitching on a short of length outside off. Jaffer has the time to read it off the deck and pats it with soft hands towards cover-point, hares across to the other end

16.1

Binny to Jaffer, no run, pitched up and curving away outside off, Jaffer plants his front foot across, watches it all along and leaves

Drinks are on the field now. Vinay Kumar - the skipper of Karnataka - is seen have a pep talk with his boys, who were in a huddle during the break. Binny will continue, two slips and a gully for him.

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, another beauty. Top nut from Aravind, goes full and tempts Ramaswamy. The batsman gets forward to drive, the ball curls away and beats him all ends up

15.4

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, beaten. Dare I say, he has looked off-color, Aravind produces a jaffa. On a goodish length and held its line just outside off, Ramaswamy was playing for the incoming ball, with his bat inside the line. Sees the ball zip past his blade

15.3

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, FOUR, runs are coming thick and fast for Vidarbha. Aravind is looking a bit off-color today, too early to judge but his lines have been wayward so far. Shortsish outside off, hint of late swing just outside off. Ramaswamy smartly tilts his bat at an angle and steers it in the pocket between gully and third slip

15.2

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, better from Aravind. Shortens his length and extracts seam movement away from off. Ramaswamy thinks it's better to leave and lifts his bat

15.1

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, FOUR, two fours in two balls for Vidarbha. If last one was streaky, this was pure elegance. A high-batted punch from Ramaswamy, standing tall to a back of a length delivery outside off and cracks it through extra cover. The fielder gives up the chase mid-way

14.6

Binny to Jaffer, FOUR, full and wide outside off, Jaffer wafts at it away from the body trying to lean into that transfer-of-weight cover drive with lazy elegance. Gets an edge through 2nd and 3rd slip towards the third man fence for four

14.5

Binny to Jaffer, no run, good length outside off, no movement this time, and Jaffer plants his front foot across the stumps to shoulder arms

14.4

Binny to Jaffer, no run, better line in the 4th stump channel, Jaffer comes forward and defends with an angled bat towards the man at short cover

14.3

Binny to Jaffer, no run, good length outside off, shaping away from the batsman again and seaming away after pitching. Too wide to cause trouble, however, as Jaffer shoulders arms

14.2

Binny to Jaffer, no run, good length outside off, a bit of out-swing and a bit of seam movement away away well. Left alone by Jaffer

14.1

Binny to Jaffer, no run, big appeal! Back of a length ball seaming in and Jaffer offers no shot! However, it was too high, and wuld have gone over the sticks. Given not out.

13.6

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, WOW! What a jaffa! Takes off after pitching on a back of a length, straightens and beats the outside edge of the batsman who was trying to play the back foot defensive shot

13.5

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length on middle, Sanjay Ramaswamy stays in the crease and presents the full face of the bat as he pushes this to mid-on

13.4

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 2 runs, Aravind over-compensates for the wide lines outside off, and drifts onto the pads, as Sanjay Ramaswamy turns it away to backward square leg for a couple

13.3

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, good length outside off, Aravind gets it to seam away from the right-hander and a bit of swing through to the keeper

13.2

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, good length outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy is happy to ignore it

13.1

Aravind to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming in a touch, and Sanjay Ramaswamy is vigilant while shouldering arms

12.6

Binny to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, Jaffer gets his bat out of the line and sees it through to the keeper

12.5

Binny to Jaffer, no run, good length outside off, the ball seams in sharply. Wasim Jaffer shoulders arms watchfully, but it was a perilous leave

12.4

Binny to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, Jaffer shuffles across, gets on the back foot and defends it into the pitch

12.3

Binny to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, Jaffer stays back, stands tall and punches it off the back foot to the man at short cover

12.2

Binny to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, Jaffer stays back and plays it with soft hands towards the slip cordon

12.1

Binny to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, full ball on off, jagging in off the seam, and Sanjay Ramaswamy tries to go for the drive but gets a thick inside-edge to backward square leg for a comfortable single

Stuart Binny, right-arm medium, comes into the attack

11.6

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, back of a length on a 4th stump line, straightening a touch, and Jaffer leaves it alone. Excellent leave that, I must say (or in this case, type)

Aravind goes round the wicket now

11.5

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, back of a length on the 5th stump line, Jaffer leaves it alone, albeit watchfully

11.4

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, good length outside off, seaming away and the ball swing through to the keeper as well. The seam position might have been maintained after it bounced as well and Jaffer shoudlers arms comfortably

11.3

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, back of a length on off, Jaffer comes forward and plays a late block into the off-side off a half-cocked stance

11.2

Aravind to Jaffer, FOUR, short and a bit of width, Jaffer gets his back foot across and cuts it crisply behind point for four. Copy-book square cut, that. Picture-perfect.

11.1

Aravind to Jaffer, no run, back of a length outside off, too wide to cause any trouble, left alone by Jaffer

Sreenath Aravind, left-arm fast medium, comes into the attack

10.6

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length outside off, seaming away a touch, and Ramaswamy shoulders arms

10.5

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Jaffer gets on the back foot and punches to cover. He goes for the quick single, and there is a shy at the striker's end, but the ball misses the stumps. Could have been close had there been a direct-hit

10.4

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, FOUR, back of a length on the pads, evades fsl, but the veteran has timed the pants off that! It just seemed just a tuck for a single, but it raced away in front of square leg for four

10.3

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, back of a length delivery on the pads, Sanjay Ramaswamy gets on the back foot and tucks it to square leg for a single as forward short leg runs across to pick up the ball

10.2

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length on middle, Sanjay Ramaswamy stays back and tucks it into the on-side

10.1

Vinay Kumar to Jaffer, 1 run, full ball outside off, Jaffer flicks it to short mid-wicket to scamper across for a single. A shy at the non-striker's end, the ball misses the stumps, but he was easily in

9.6

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length delivery drifting down the leg side, Ramaswamy misses the attempted glance and it goes through to Gautam behind the stumps

9.5

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, another in-seamer pitching otuside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy stays still and gets an inside-edge onto his thighs. Very sharp deviation

9.4

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, more seam movement! Short of a length delivery outside off, seaming in and hurrying the batsman as it hits the thigh guard and trundles away towards the slip cordon. Sanjay Ramaswamy was looking for the drive but was cramped for room

9.3

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, good length delivery on middle, Sanjay Ramaswamy clips it off his pads and it goes to forward short leg on the bounce

9.2

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, peach! Back of a length outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy stays back and plays inside the line. The ball seams in but somehow beats the outside edge

9.1

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length ball on middle, seaming in to the right-hander, Sanjay Ramaswamy tries to flick from the crease and misses it altogether. A stifled appeal, but it was too high. Would have gone over the stumps

Wasim Jaffer, right handed bat, comes to the crease

8.6

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, out Lbw!! Scrambled seam delivery pitching on leg, deviating towards middle stump and Faiz Fazal tries to flick the ball across the line, misses it completely. What a peach! Vinay has built the pressure with some terrific bowling, and has reaped his reward. Hitting the top half of middle-stump, that. Faiz Fazal lbw b Vinay Kumar 12(35) [4s-2]

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, THAT'S OUT!! Lbw!!

8.5

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, good length on off, Faiz Fazal gets tempted into the drive, and ends up playing and ugly slice as his bottom hand comes off the bat. Gets it away to point off the outer-half of the bat

8.4

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on middle and off, and Faiz Fazal stays in the crease to block it back to the bowler

8.3

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length outside off, and it takes off! Unplayable delivery by Vinay! It just pitched and seamed in and Gautam behind the stumps took it head high. Oh this wicket has some devils!

8.2

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, back of a length on off, Sanjay Ramaswamy comes forward and punches it under his eyes towards cover for a single

8.1

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run,

7.6

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on off, shaping away, and Faiz Fazal shuffles across to off to leave that alone

7.5

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, no run, short ball outside off, not much bounce, Faiz Fazal tries to cut it away and chops it behind the stumps as it goes through to Gautam on the bounce

7.4

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on leg, seaming towards leg-stump and rapped on the pads! Stifled appeal as Faiz Fazal plays down the wrong line. However, it was pitching outside leg stump, so it cannot be given out LBW

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on off, Faiz Fazal stays in the crease and guides it to gully. They think about the single, but decide against it in the end

7.1

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length outside off, Faiz Fazal stays on the back foot and watchfully leaves the ball

6.6

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length on off and middle, Sanjay Ramaswamy stays back and dead-bats

6.5

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, dropped at third slip by Mayank Agarwal! It was a back of a length delivery outside off, and Sanjay Ramaswamy stayed back and poked uncertainly at it with hard hands. The ball flew to the right of Agarwal and he got a hand to it but it popped out of his hand. Early reprieve for Ramaswamy

6.4

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, oh dear! Peach of a delivery! Back of a length outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy comes forward to defend compactly, but it sneaks through the gap and to the keeper. Sharp seam movement into the batsman.

6.3

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, short-ish delivery very far outside off, and seaming very sharply away! Perhaps this was the leg-cutter and Sanjay Ramaswamy is happy to leave it alone

6.2

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 2 runs, short-ish ball outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy gets on his toes and steers it with a vertical bat to deep point for a couple

6.1

Vinay Kumar to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, another one leaving the right-hander off a back of a length. Sanjay Ramaswamy stayed back and played it well with soft hands and got a dying edge towards gully

5.6

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, FOUR, short and wide outside off, Faiz Fazal shifts his weight backwards and pulls it away to deep mid wicket for four

5.5

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, 2 runs, back of a length on the pads, Faiz Fazal tucks it away to backward square leg for a couple

5.4

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, FOUR, short and wide, Faiz Fazal stays rooted to the spot and slashes it away square of the wicket for four. Easy pickings

5.3

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length outside off, too far wide to cause any trouble, and Faiz Fazal is happy to see that through to the wicketkeeper

5.2

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length in the channel outside off, Faiz Fazal shuffles across and defends off the back foot

5.1

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on off, Faiz Fazal guides it towards third man but Samarth at gully dives full length to his left to save a boundary for his side

4.6

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Faiz Fazal stays back and guides it in front of point for a single

4.5

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, full on off and middle, Faiz Fazal drives it crisply, but it takes down the stumps at the other end. The middle stump, in fact, is uprooted! The straightest of straight drives!

4.4

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on off, Faiz Fazal defends off the back foot solidly

4.3

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on off, Faiz Fazal gets on his toes and defends it into the off-side

4.2

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, good length on off, Faiz Fazal on-drives it from the crease towards mid-on

4.1

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length outside off, Faiz Fazal gets further back in the crease and decides to leave it alone

3.6

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, good length on middle and off, Sanjay Ramaswamy comes forward slightly to punch it towards mid-off

3.5

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy plays closer to his body this time after getting onto the back foot and steers it towards point with a vertical bat

3.4

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy pokes away from the body and gets beaten by this delivery which was seaming away a touch

3.3

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, good length delivery on middle, Sanjay Ramaswamy plays that off his pads into the ground as it goes to forward short leg on the bounce. No one-tip one-hand in First-class cricket though

3.2

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy shoulders arms

3.1

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length on off and middle, Sanjay Ramaswamy hangs back and defends to forward short leg. Ah yes, there is an forward short leg this early in the game

2.6

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on middle across the lefty, straightening off the seam and Faiz Fazal gets on the back foot to defend. Seemed to come off his bat onto the thigh guard

2.5

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length again, jagging in off the seam, Faiz Fazal tries to play the transfer-of-weight cover-drive and it beats the inside-edge. A testing start by Vinay

2.4

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length outside off, Faiz Fazal is happy to shoulder arms

2.3

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length outside off, a leg-cutter into the left-hander and a good amount of lateral deviation. The batsman is stuck on the crease and chops it onto his pad off the inside-edge

2.2

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on middle, Faiz Fazal hangs back in the crease and pushes it into the turf and it trundles back down the pitch to the bowler

2.1

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, short-ish delivery on leg, angling away from the southpaw, and Faiz Fazal gets on top of the bounce to get it off the inner half of the bat towards mid-on

1.6

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, FOUR, half-volley outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy just steps forward and punches it without any follow-through to deep extra cover for a boundary. That raced away through the turf. Perfect timing

1.5

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 2 runs, back of a length around off, Sanjay Ramaswamy hops onto the back foot and inside-edges this past the leg-stump to fine leg for a couple

1.4

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length outside off again, and Sanjay Ramaswamy hops in the air to get on top of the bounce to defend it off the back foot

1.3

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, no run, back of a length outside off, Sanjay Ramaswamy steers it towards point

1.2

Mithun to Faiz Fazal, 1 run, appeal! An inside edge into the pads, and it trundles away to short cover as they scamper across for a single

1.1

Mithun to Sanjay Ramaswamy, 1 run, full and a hint of i-swing, Sanjay Ramaswamy gets an inside-edge through to mid-on for the first runs of the morning

Abhimanyu Mithun, right-arm medium, comes into the attack

0.6

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, another peach of a delivery and seams away from the left-hander a touch. However, this was more of a leave rather than a missed edge as he was always looking to play inside the line. Vinay starts off with a maiden.

0.5

Vinay Kumar to Faiz Fazal, no run, back of a length on leg and middle, angling across the left-hander and Vinay Kumar has beaten the bat of Fazal again! Peach of a delivery seaming away from the left-hander

Faiz Fazal, Vidarbha captain: "We are backing our batting and we have done well throughout the series with the bat. The energy in the dressing room is very high and we are honoured to be playing the semi-final of the Ranji trophy."Vinay Kumar, Karnataka captain: "We would also have liked to bat first. It seems like a true wicket, but we back our bowling and will be looking to bowl in the good areas. We need to utilize the new ball properly, and try to continue our winning streak."

8:30AM local time: Good morning and welcome to this semi-final encounter between Karnataka and Vidarbha at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Let us not mince words: Karnataka are clearly the favourites in this competition, as they have managed to outplay teams with the sheer weight of runs. Their controlled and penetrative bowling which has mostly been over-shadowed by the exemplary batting, came into the fore in the quarterfinal, with the captain Vinay Kumar leading from the front and taking a top-order hat-trick. Karnataka will miss Manish Pandey and KL Rahul, who are currently on national duty. However, the likes of Mayank Agarwal and co have proved that they are good enough to pull off 600+ totals without the services of the aforementioned duo.

Vidarbha have had an easy time of it, finishing at the top of a group which didn't pose much of a challenge, to say the least. However, they have been clinical against the oppositions they have come across and have the team to punch above their weight, and cause an upset. Stalwarts like Wasim Jaffer, Faiz Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy will be leading the batting, but it is the return of Umesh Yadav, who has run through Test sides in the recent past, that will pose a serious threat to the opposition. Karnataka certainly cannot afford to take them lightly.

Clearly, Karnataka is high on morale, having been the the runaway best side this tournament. Nonetheless, Vidarbha is, in fact, an evenly-matched side and will pose a serious threat to Karnataka in this semi-final encounter of the Ranji Trophy. Join us for this potentially enthralling game at 9:30AM local time.

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Preview:

It may be argued that Vidarbha were placed in Group D and had relatively easy draws. Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Services and Chhattisgarh didn't really pose much threat but to Vidarbha's credit they racked up four wins from their six group games to create a smooth passage to the quarterfinal. A clinical show against Kerala, where they posted a 412-run win, after being pushed on the mat helped them seal a spot against giants Karnataka in the semifinal.

Throughout the tournament, Vidarbha haven't let their guard down and have conceded the first innings lead just once - to Chhattisgarh. However, they now face their toughest challenge so far. Karnataka are the second-most successful team in the history of the tournament and have so far bulldozed oppositions to make the final four.

Even when the BCCI has decided to release players for other teams, Karnataka will miss the services of KL Rahul and Manish Pandey, who are part of India squad for the Twenty20 International series against Sri Lanka. That, by no means, weakens them. Mayank Agarwal is in the form of his life, the batting unit has been functioning really well and Vinay Kumar has led the bowling unit well besides being generally shrewd as captain. They've decided not to tinker with the squad that knocked Mumbai out of contention in Nagpur.

Karnataka, however, cannot afford to take Vidarbha lightly. Umesh Yadav will join Vidarbha to boost their bowling attack while the onus will be on Faiz Fazal, Sanjay Ramaswamy, Wasim Jaffer and Ganesh Satish to give the bowlers the edge.

Karnataka will fall back on their big-match experience but the last thing you want to do is discard Vidarbha before the contest begins.